


Future Perfect

by Cherry (crazylove)



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: 2020, Alternate Universe, Chicago (City), Explicit Sexual Content, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, Mentions of Death, Psychic Abilities, Psychometry, Seoul, Valentine's Day, Virginity, only jaehyun is famous, the rest are losers (jk)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-05
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-15 15:40:00
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 33,067
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28566330
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crazylove/pseuds/Cherry
Summary: Johnny has a problem. Whenever he touches someone, he can see their future-- and he has to say it. Everything he predicts is bad and it’s only getting worse. Johnny has resigned himself to never touching anyone again, counting down the days until three months after his 25th birthday when he can finally accept his invitation from a mysterious stranger in Korea who promises to help him control this infuriating ability.In the meantime, Johnny is living at home in Chicago, working at a Korean restaurant (to try to learn Korean) and feeling like a lonely loser. Especially on Valentine’s day, surrounded by couples. Ironically, Johnny can’t tell his own future… if he’ll ever be able to have a real relationship.Then someone comes into his restaurant alone-- a very handsome guy. The guy touches him and… Johnny sees nothing. Could this be Johnny’s chance?OrJohnny is psychic. Jaehyun is a famous actor. After one surprising night together, they never expect to see each other again.Until they do.
Relationships: Jung Yoonoh | Jaehyun/Suh Youngho | Johnny
Comments: 39
Kudos: 133





	1. Johnny

“Johnny, table 4!” 

Johnny nodded, grabbing the tray of thin sliced raw marinated beef and hurried over to Table 4. These guys didn’t seem to realize it was Valentines Day. The six of them had been crammed into the booth eating, drinking and talking loudly, since they got there straight after work to take advantage of the restaurant’s generous happy hour. Johnny hoped he wouldn’t have to be the one to tell them about the 90 minute table limit. They had limited grills and their AYCE Korean barbecue menu was very popular on holidays.

“More bulgogi,” Johnny said, sliding the tray on the table and grabbing the empty one from their last round of meats. One of them yelled that they needed more soju. Johnny nodded and looked over at one of the busboys, gesturing that he should change their charred grill for a new one.

“Change the grill!” one of them demanded.

Johnny grit his teeth. “Coming, sir.” Serving the old, drunk businessmen was one of his least favorite parts of the job. They never tipped well either, claiming that tipping wasn’t a thing in Korea.

“Hey!” Another called out to Johnny, his big face red. He said something in Korean that Johnny didn’t understand. Johnny really hoped that his Korean improved one day (his parents wanted it more than he did) but maybe the human brain was too fully formed at 25. He studied every night and he told everyone at the restaurant to speak Korean, but most of the time, it just didn’t register.

“I’m sorry?” Johnny said, as politely as he could. Everyone at the booth groaned, rolling their eyes. Johnny did catch one of them muttering something about how stupid he was.

Johnny took a sharp breath and turned to leave. He’d get one of his coworkers to come sort this out. But then the drunken guy on the end reached out and grabbed his bare arm. 

“Wait!” Johnny cried out.

“We said--” The man started, in English.

Johnny didn’t hear what he said as his vision went from blurry to black.

Then everything he saw in his head was crystal clear.

He saw a middle-aged Korean woman giggling with another man in a hotel room bed. The large man flipped her over, grinned down at her and then smothered her lips in a sloppy kiss.

The man was one of the other guys sitting at the table. Johnny saw his name.

The restaurant came back into view. Johnny snatched his arm away.

Johnny never knew exactly what he was going to say until the words were coming out of his mouth.

“Your wife is planning to have an affair with your friend Lee Joon. They will meet every Tuesday at 8pm at the Millennium Garden Hotel, starting next week.”

Johnny said this in perfect Korean.

All the men at the table instantly stopped talking.

As usual, Johnny was frozen to the spot when he wanted to run away. His body always went into this state of shock after he gave a prediction. He was forced to watch the person absorb what he said and react.

“What…?” the man said. He turned to a man sitting on the other side of the booth. Johnny recognized him from his vision. Lee Joon.

“She said she was starting a book club.”

“Book club _every_ Tuesday?” One of the other men in the booth chortled. “Dongho, you’re a damn fool.”

The first man, Dongho, gave a loud growl and attempted to lunge at the other guy, Lee Joon, from across the table, over the hot coals of the grill. All the men at the booth started yelling, trying to hold Dongho back while Lee Joon jumped over a couple of people, getting out of the booth and racing through the restaurant to make a hasty exit.

“I’m gonna KILL HIM!” Dongho yelled. Now everyone in the restaurant was looking at the scene. “How DARE he FUCK my WIFE!”

Maybe she wouldn’t be messing around on you if you weren’t out drinking with your buddies on Valentine’s Day, Johnny thought. If he had a spouse, he would be much more romantic than that.

Johnny was relieved when he was finally able to take a proper breath. His body released him from the aftereffects of the prediction. One of the managers stopped Johnny as he was making a hasty exit and glared at him.

“You realize I’m going to have to comp that table now?” she said, angrily. Johnny nodded. “I’m taking it out of your pay.” Of course she was. Johnny nodded again.

“Take a break,” his manager said, shaking her head. “Why are you wearing short sleeves anyway? Put something else on.”

Johnny took off his apron, put it on the back table for the waiters and trudged to the back, where there was a small locker room for the staff. He opened his locker and looked at himself in the small mirror he’d placed on the door. Johnny’s hair was getting long, falling into his eyes. His mom desperately wanted him to cut it, but Johnny enjoyed growing it out.

“It won’t make you attractive to the ladies, John, if you look like a girl,” his mom liked to say. Johnny replied that he didn’t care. It didn’t matter if he was attractive to the ladies since he couldn’t touch them. Plus, he was into men, a fact his mom either frequently forgot about or refused to fully acknowledge. He wasn’t sure which one. But he was out as much as he could be.

Living at home really sucked sometimes.

Johnny pulled off his shirt, feeling the rush of cool air from the locker room over his bare chest. Even though it was February in Chicago (which meant freezing outside) the restaurant stayed hot all the time, due to the constant use of the grills, plus all the people stuffed inside. It wasn’t exactly a big place. They had 12 grill tables and 8 regular tables for people who were looking to eat something other than grilled meat. All the tables were full almost every night. The job kept Johnny busy, even though he hated it.

If Johnny had his way, he’d be a photographer. He even went to school for photography. But his parents said it wasn’t practical. Besides, he didn’t finish college. After too many incidents, the school asked him to leave and Johnny didn’t feel like starting over.

His parents got him the job in the restaurant. The owner was a close family friend, so the management knew his situation.

Which was why the manager asked him to put on a long sleeve shirt.

In order for Johnny to have a vision, the contact had to be skin-to-skin. If Johnny wore gloves, he was safe from most potential interactions. Thankfully, Chicago was cold 8 months out of the year so it wasn’t odd for him to be wearing gloves all the time. At work, he wore food service gloves.

But if someone touched his arm, he would have a vision. If they touched his leg, his face, his lips… a kiss.

Kissing was definitely out of the question.

Wearing a short sleeve shirt in the restaurant had been reckless-- Johnny would admit it-- but he was hot and customers didn’t usually grab him. Johnny shrugged into his long-sleeve shirt reluctantly. Also, he’d been working on his fitness. It was one of the few hobbies he could do safely. Was it wrong that he wanted to show off the guns a little on Valentine’s Day?

Apparently, it was.

Johnny stepped out of the back door, into the back alley behind the restaurant where they kept their dumpster and got their deliveries. He could hear people just beyond the alley, on the main street, talking and laughing together as they walked to various destinations. The restaurant was on a busy block, full of trendy bars and restaurants. Young adults his age traveled from all over the city to come hang out here. Johnny used to be one of them, hanging out with a great group of friends until…

He didn’t want to think about it.

It was just after 6 now, so he knew the couples were coming. They didn’t have reservations but they did have a waitlist that could be two hours. Still, people waited for the chance to grill their own meat, even non-Koreans nowadays. Korean barbecue was becoming trendy.

“Hey!” someone called to him from the alley. Johnny looked over and saw a woman about his age in a short sweater dress and thigh high black boots with a heel, holding the hand of a guy shorter than her. “We’re soooooo lost. Like we’re trying to get to Kongguksu? The GPS says it’s around here.”

Johnny smiled as she totally butchered the name of the restaurant. Most non-Koreans did. “Yeah, you have to walk around the block. That way. To the entrance.” He pointed. The couple looked and laughed.

“Duh!” the woman said. “Thank you! Your English is amazing, by the way!”

The couple took off, back towards the street, the woman stumbling a bit in the dirty, old snow as her boyfriend or husband or whatever helped her through the grass.

“I’m American... “ Johnny said, quietly, to their retreating backs.

Johnny knew how to push down his feelings of jealousy now.

The nagging fear that this would never go away.

That he would be alone forever.

He was good at putting on a cheerful front, not letting his situation get him down, even though he was, by nature, a touchy person.

At least, that’s what he wanted everyone to think. That Johnny was okay, a happy-go-lucky guy.

But on Valentine’s Day, it was especially hard.

Johnny had to remind himself that he had a plan. In approximately three months, he was going to Korea. He was going to get rid of this for good. Before she died, his grandmother called his ability a gift. Johnny called it a curse. He didn’t think he deserved it.

Johnny returned to his shift, burning up in his long sleeve shirt and gloves. The restaurant was at full capacity, as expected. He went from table to table, taking orders, answering questions, helping grill meat, refilling side dishes, grabbing more wine and beer and soju. The couples were more diverse than they’d ever been. Korean, Chinese, White, Black, Hispanic, straight, gay. It did make Johnny happy that they chose this place, that he could be part of making the day special for them. He tied balloons to backs of chairs, found glasses of water for flower bouquets, hid boxes of chocolates for dessert and even assisted with a proposal, holding the glass of champagne with a ring in it back until the perfect moment. Everyone was happy. Everyone thanked him and tipped well. Johnny thought Valentine’s Day might not be a total disaster after all. It felt fulfilling to help these couples have a perfect evening.

“Hey John.” His manager came over. “Ruby had to go home sick. Can you take over up front?”

Johnny nodded, hoping that Ruby was okay. She was best at being the host upfront but Johnny would do his best.

He transferred his tables to the other two waiters on staff and went up front to face the waiting mob.

“How much longer?” someone complained. He checked their name on the list.

“John, you gotta close the wait list,” his manager said, appearing again about an hour later. “Anyone else who shows up tonight, tell them we’re full.”

Johnny nodded, not happy that he’d have the bearer of bad news. But they were only open for two more hours.

He spent the next half hour turning away disappointed couples, getting yelled at because they didn’t take reservations and dealing with complaints about the length of the wait.

At least he got to speak English most of the time. This wasn’t their usual crowd of locals.

By 9pm, the crowd had died down. Everyone on the waitlist was seated. The “WAIT LIST FULL” sign Johnny put on the door helped. It looked like they were going to make it through another Valentine’s Day.

Johnny began helping with some closing activities. He was looking down at the laptop up front, busy checking off boxes in the special software, when he heard the door open and felt a blast of arctic Chicago wind.

“I’m sorry, we’re--” Johnny looked up.

The most beautiful man on the planet smiled back at him.

Johnny dropped the laptop. Like, it crashed to the floor.

“Oh?” the guy choked out, pushing back his beanie to reveal more of his gorgeous face.

Johnny couldn’t move.

“ _Anneyeong_ ,” the guy said, bowing his head a little.

Johnny just stared.

“Um,” the guy said. “I speak English…”

Johnny swallowed, hard.

First of all, the guy was tall. Johnny was taller, about 6’3, but this guy wasn’t too far from that. His skin was perfect, the type Johnny thought was a K-Drama illusion. But no, this guy was right in front of him, completely real, with a pale, crystal clear, soft looking perfect face. Rice paper skin.

The guy’s jaw was strong, manly, classically handsome, a face that Johnny didn’t think people appreciated enough anymore as even men were getting their jaws shaved off into a v-line. But his eyes brought a softness to his face, not too small, not too big, intriguing, captivating, with just the right amount of _aegyo-sal_ underneath. The guy’s nose was straight, proportionate, the tip just the right size, a nose that plastic surgeons probably plastered to their walls as the example of a superior result.

But this guy didn’t look like the type to get plastic surgery.

Johnny could tell he was born perfect.

His hair was a dark brown, not quite black, and fell over his forehead, strategically. Unlike Johnny’s hair, which was going all over the place. In fact, he had a headband on right now, holding it back. He felt ridiculous.

Johnny’s eyes traveled lower. The guy was wearing a simple open blazer, not enough of a jacket for the cold, but it allowed Johnny to see down his broad chest to where his shirt under his blazer was tucked into his jeans, revealing a tight waist, circled by a fashionable belt. The guy wore dark wash denim jeans and Johnny could tell that they were expensive. Johnny considered himself a bit of a fashionista. Online shopping was another hobby that was easy to do alone. Although for Johnny, it was online window shopping since he was pretty much broke.

The guy’s jeans weren’t tight but they showed off his thighs and strong legs. Johnny could tell this guy kept himself in shape, even through his simple outfit. He was the full package.

Johnny looked up at his face again.

“I’m sorry,” the guy said, still speaking English, scrubbing a self-conscious hand through his hair. “You were going to tell me that you’re closed, weren’t you?”

“No!” Johnny yelled, suddenly unable to control the volume of his voice. God, what was wrong with him? He managed to turn it down to a normal volume. “Just… yes. No. Yes… no… I mean!” Johnny wanted to slap himself. He wasn’t usually like this. He was usually very charming and well-spoken, even when his Korean was shit.

The guy cracked a small smile.

Oh no, he was even more gorgeous when he smiled. His eyes crinkled at the corners just a bit and were those… dimples?

Johnny was totally gone.

“No!” He finally sputtered out again. “Just… stay here.” Johnny took a step away from the host podium and tripped over the laptop on the floor. He grabbed the side of the podium just before he crashed to the floor on top of it. He wanted to die.

When he dared to look over his shoulder at the guy again, Johnny saw him still smiling.

“You okay?”

“Wait!” Johnny said, for the second time that night, although these were completely different circumstances. ”Um… are you… uh… table for… just… you?” He finally managed to sputter out.

The guy held up one finger. “Just me.”

Johnny turned around again and hurried away.

How could this be happening? On _Valentine’s_ Day? This super hot handsome guy was at Johnny’s restaurant? _Alone_?

Johnny told himself to pull it together.

He burst through the plastic white curtain that led to the back of the house.

“I have a customer and we need to seat him!” he blurted out to anyone who would listen. The kitchen staff looked at him.

“Absolutely not!” his manager said from her office. “We’re full.”

Johnny considered dropping to his knees and saying “Pleeeeeeeeease! I need some eye candy in my life!” but he knew she wouldn’t change her mind.

Johnny slunk back up front.

The guy was sitting in one of the waiting chairs. He jumped up when he saw Johnny again.

“I’m so sorry for the trouble,” he said. “I just saw the sign.” He pointed at the sign Johnny had stuck on the door about the waitlist. “I’m really sorry to bother you. But uh…” The guy hesitated. Johnny willed himself to speak but seeing this guy breathing in front of him was enough to turn his brain into mush.

“Maybe I can get a couple of soju bottles to go?” the guy continued, giving Johnny a sheepish smile. “Uh… my… they told me that you have to… show your ID in America? For alcohol?”

He handed Johnny an ID card. Johnny looked down and saw it was a Korean ID card. So this guy was Korean-Korean. Johnny had no idea. He spoke English with a perfect American accent. He’d just assumed he was Korean-American, like Johnny. Only this gorgeous guy had actually paid attention in Korean school.

Johnny looked over the ID Card. It said his name was Jeong Yoonoh and he was two years younger than Johnny.

Then he gasped when he noticed something else.

Today, February 14th--Valentine’s Day--was his birthday.

“Is it all right?” the guy asked nervously after hearing Johnny gasp. Johnny looked up at him.

“It’s your birthday? Today?” he asked urgently. Johnny handed the ID back to the incredibly good-looking guy.

Jeong Yoonoh nodded. “Yeah… is it okay? Am I old enough…?”

“It’s Valentine’s Day.” The stupid words came out of Johnny’s mouth.

Jeong Yoonoh nodded again, his eyes slightly wide. This was probably the point where Johnny scared the very handsome man away.

Suddenly, Jeong Yoonoh stepped forward and reached up for him. He swiped something off of Johnny’s face before he could move.

His fingertips brushed gently over the top of Johnny’s cheek.

“No, no, no!” Johnny cried out, stepping back, too late, knocking into the podium. It wobbled behind him.

Jeong Yoonoh looked at him, curiously.

Johnny was breathing hard.

“I’m sorry. You had an… eyelash,” Jeong Yoonoh said, holding out his forefinger and thumb, pinched together.

Johnny closed his eyes.

He braced himself.

Now, he really was going to scare this guy away. For good.

_Please don’t let me see him die_ , _please don’t let me see him die_ , Johnny chanted in his head.

He waited.

Thirty seconds… one minute…

Nothing.

Johnny opened his eyes.

Jeong Yoonoh was still standing there.

“An eyelash,” he said again. “You’re supposed to blow it and… make a wish. Right?”

Johnny’s heart was racing. This couldn’t be happening. But it was. It was real.

He was seeing nothing.

Maybe the curse was gone.

Maybe this beautiful man… cured him.

Johnny didn’t know what to think.

“I’m gonna-- get you a table--” Johnny stammered out. “For your birthday.”

Then he leaned forward, pursed his lips towards Jeong Yoonoh’s awaiting fingers, closed his eyes and blew gently.

Even though it was Jeong Yoonoh’s birthday, Johnny was the one who made a wish.


	2. Jaehyun

Jungwoo found the restaurant on Yelp.

“4.8 Stars, hyung,” he reported to Jaehyun over the phone. “That’s very good.”

“Hmmmm…” Jaehyun said. He was going through his texts from the director. There were some preview shots from the photoshoot on the Chicago River. They came out very well. Jaehyun didn’t look like he’d been freezing his ass the whole time, which was reality.

“Are you going to go there?” Jungwoo asked.

“Yeah… it closes at 10, right?”

“You’d better get going. It’s already after 9 there.”

“Jungwoo, you’re very good at time zone conversions.”

“Part of my job, hyung.”

“Why don’t you get some sleep?”

“It’s not your birthday here, but it’s still your birthday there,” Jungwoo said, eagerly. “I’m going to stay up to make sure everything goes well. Call me if you need anything. Happy Birthday!”

Jaehyun smiled, shaking his head to himself. Jungwoo had already been up for hours to assist Jaehyun remotely with his schedules during the day in America while it was the middle of the night in Korea. “Thanks, Jungwoo.”

They hung up and Jaehyun looked out the window at the streets of Chicago passing him by.

He wasn’t often alone.

Especially on his birthday.

But his manager was double-booked and they ran into last minute issues with Jungwoo’s visa, so Jaehyun traveled to America all by himself.

It might seem like a normal thing for a 23-year-old guy to do. But Jaehyun’s life hadn’t been normal for a long time.

Usually, on his birthday, he held a huge party, full of industry big shots. It was a time for networking and schmoozing and getting some pictures with other hot actors (most of them he couldn’t stand) so all their social media stats skyrocketed in the morning.

This was different. This was unusual.

This was nice.

Which was how he found himself standing in the lobby of a restaurant named Kongguksu.

In front of a tall, handsome waiter.

Holding his stray eyelash.

Telling him to make a wish.

It was like something out a K-Drama. In fact, Jaehyun was sure it actually was… in a script he had passed on. Because it was pretty cheesy. Nobody would do that kind of stuff in real life. Pluck an eyelash off of a stranger’s face.

Except now Jaehyun had done it. And now they were smiling at each other. Jaehyun had to look up to meet this guy’s eyes, which he rarely had to do with anyone back at home. This guy was so tall.

Jaehyun knew normal people didn’t do this, based on the tall waiter’s reaction. At first, he backed into a podium and nearly knocked it over, looking terrified.

But then something changed. The tall waiter actually blew the eyelash out of his fingers.

It was like they both couldn’t believe what just happened.

Now they were both smiling at each other.

Jaehyun didn't think he was supposed to live K-Dramas in real life.

“Hold on,” the guy said, after he told Jaehyun he was going to get him a table.

Jaehyun carefully pulled his two fingers apart.

The eyelash was gone.

He wondered what the tall waiter had wished for.

More importantly, why the hell did he do that?

“Okay,” the tall waiter said, coming back. “Come with me. Just… stay right behind me.”

Jaehyun quirked an eyebrow, but followed the tall waiter into the busy restaurant. They walked quickly. The tall waiter showed Jaehyun to a small, low table that was in the very back, in a corner, hidden from most of the other tables. The table seemed half-covered in the dust and the light above wasn’t working properly. A stack of napkins was wedged underneath one of the table legs. The seats were small stools.

Jaehyun wasn’t sure if he should sit down.

“I know it’s not the best,” the tall waiter said. “We usually don’t use this table, but we’re completely full right now. Don’t worry. I’ll make sure you have the best birthday meal, ever. I promise.”

There was such sincerity on his face. Jaehyun was taken aback.

Wow, this guy had really beautiful eyes.

Jaehyun sat down on one of the stools. The tall waiter hurried away, coming back in less than a minute with a wet cloth to wipe down the table.

“I’ll take care of you,” the tall waiter said. “No one else. Don’t ask anyone else. I’ll make sure everything is taken care of, personally.”

Jaehyun nodded, looking over the tall waiter’s shoulder towards the busy dining room. It didn’t look like anyone else would even see him over here, even if he wanted them to. 

Which he didn’t.

“What kind of soju did you want, Yoonoh?”

Jaehyun looked up, taken aback. Yoonoh? It took a second for him to even remember that was his name. Where did he…? Was he a fan…? But then Jaehyun remembered he handed the tall waiter his national ID which had his legal name on it. And if this guy was a fan, there would be more screaming. Yes, this guy had acted spacy and weird and jumpy at first, but not in a fan way. There was always screaming, even for his male fans.

Yoonoh, it was. He could be Yoonoh for the night. That would keep him more anonymous, even though he already was pretty anonymous in America. Nobody knew him here.

“Just regular,” Jaehyun said.

“I’ll get you the best we have.” 

The tall waiter turned to hurry away but Jaehyun called, “Wait!”

He turned around, slowly.

“What’s your name?” Jaehyun asked.

The tall guy looked down at himself like he had to confirm it.

“Johnny,” he said. “Johnny Suh.”

“Thanks, Johnny.” Jaehyun gave him a smile. “I appreciate you helping me out.”

“Of course. It’s your birthday and Valentine’s Day. I’ll be right back.”

Jaehyun tried to get comfortable on a stool. When was the last time he just ate in a restaurant like this? Not even on this trip. All his meals before had been with the director and his entourage. They ate in a fancy, private room at this famous place in Chicago that served deep dish pizza, which was like a pizza cake with way too much cheese. Jaehyun didn’t know how any of the other people at the table got through even one slice, but apparently he was the only one who had a problem with it.

His manager wanted to push him into the American market, especially since Jaehyun was fluent in English after living in the US as a child. Jaehyun wasn’t so sure about it. He had four back-to-back dramas booked in Korea for this year alone. He didn’t know how much more he could do.

Johnny came back a couple of minutes later. He was balancing a tray with a soju bottle and a glass on top with one hand. He held something else in his other hand. Jaehyun noticed he was wearing clear gloves, which made Jaehyun a little nervous. People thought gloves made everything more sanitary when the sad reality was, gloves never got changed.

“Our best soju…” Johnny said, putting the tray down on the table gently. Jaehyun squinted at the bottle. It looked like the same soju he got off the bottom shelf at GS25, but maybe it was fancy here.

“And…” Johnny revealed what he was clutching in his fist. It was a single pink rose encased in another soju glass, with the label ripped off and filled with water.

Johnny set the makeshift vase in the middle of the table. The rose was bright and in perfect bloom, showing off all its soft, picture perfect pink petals.

Jaehyun had gotten plenty of flowers from strangers. Never like this.

"Happy birthday," Johnny said, with the brightest smile in the world. Jaehyun couldn't take his eyes off of him.

“Thank you,” Jaehyun said, though those words in English or Korean didn’t quite reflect how he felt.

“No problem.” Johnny’s smile seemed to take over his whole face, right up to his eyes.

Jaehyun thought it was very cute.

Johnny poured Jaehyun’s first shot of soju.

“There’s more where that came from,” Johnny said. Then he checked his watch. “Well, for the next 30 minutes. Speaking of which, what do you want to eat? I need to put it in now or the kitchen will kill me.”

“Bibimbap,” Jaehyun said.

Johnny grinned at him again. “You keep it simple. That’s, like, our specialty. I’ll make sure they make it really good. One birthday dinner, coming right up!”

Jaehyun watched Johnny walk away again with so much energy. They seemed to be the same age. Jaehyun wondered if this was Johnny’s full time job or if he did something else too. Johnny could definitely be a model. The photographers in Seoul would go crazy over how tall and handsome he was.

Jaehyun looked down at his buzzing phone.

_ Everything okay at the restaurant? Need anything? _

Jungwoo texting him. If Jaehyun didn’t contact his personal assistant every thirty minutes out here in America alone, Jungwoo got nervous.

_ Perfect _ , Jaehyun typed back. He sent Jungwoo a picture of his pink rose.

Jaehyun looked over his shoulder. The restaurant was clearing out. He’d obviously come here when it was about to shut down. He felt bad about it. Jaehyun was often a nuisance like that. Life got so crazy, he forgot the rules of regular society. He told himself to eat fast, so Johnny could go home.

Johnny came back with his bibimbap, holding another tray over his head. He was skilled at that.

“Extra…” Johnny put the steaming hot bowl in front of Jaehyun and the small side dishes down too. “Everything.”

The meal was fresh, piping hot. There was definitely an overabundance of meat. The fried egg was cooked perfectly. It smelled so good. Jaehyun could imagine that he was at home right now.

“Wow,” he said.

Johnny looked pleased. “Enjoy.” He slid a pair of disposable wooden chopsticks towards Jaehyun. Then he turned around again.

“Johnny,” Jaehyun called. The word came out of his mouth before he could expect it.

Johnny turned around.

Jaehyun tipped his head to the side. “Uh…” he said. “I know you’re busy working but… maybe you could sit down with me? This is a lot for me to eat.” His diet was going to be totally obliterated by this bibimbap bowl. It was worth it though.

“In Korea, we never eat alone,” Jaehyun said. He watched Johnny look him over.

“Okay,” Johnny said after a moment. “I’ll be right back.”

Jaehyun looked down at the sizzling hot stone bowl and breathed in the sweet scent of the meat. He wanted to dig in but he forced himself to wait for Johnny.

When Johnny returned, he wasn’t wearing his waiter’s apron or his gloves. He was carrying a pair of chopsticks and a soju glass.

“I washed my hands,” Johnny said, sitting across from Jaehyun at the small table. They were both too big to be sitting on those stools. Jaehyun poured him a drink.

“A toast,” Johnny said, holding up his shot glass. “To your birthday and Valentine’s Day.”

Jaehyun touched his glass to Johnny’s and they both tossed back the shot.

“You sure like Valentine’s Day,” Jaehyun said. He smiled at Johnny as he began mixing up the bibimbap.

“It’s a very special time of the year,” Johnny said, looking serious. “It’s romantic. But more than that, it’s about celebrating love. It can even be about loving your friends or your family. I think it’s so cool your birthday is on Valentine’s Day. I missed it. My birthday was 5 days ago.”

“How old are you?” Jaehyun asked, glad he had a natural segue into the question. Age was important in Korea but hard to bring up in America.

“25,” Johnny said. So he was older than Jaehyun, but not by much. Not that age mattered too much here.

“I’m 23,” Jaehyun said. “Today. But… Valentine’s Day isn’t such a big deal in Korea. I mean, we celebrate it. It’s mostly like… girls giving guys chocolates.”

“Did you get any chocolates?” Johnny asked. 

Jaehyun laughed a little to himself. He took the first bite of the bibimbap. It was just as good as it smelled. He closed his eyes, savoring it for a moment. Jaehyun pushed the stone bowl towards Johnny.

“No,” Jaehyun said.

“Why not?” Johnny asked and the question wasn’t as annoying as when some nosy ahjummas asked him why he was single.

“I’m busy,” Jaehyun said. “It’s hard to date.” 

He watched Johnny take a bite of the bibimbap before he said something he would never say in casual company in Korea.

“Besides, I’m more into guys.”

Johnny’s eyes flew open and he started to choke. Jaehyun leaned away. Okay, maybe he should keep that to himself in America, too. He thought they were more open here.

He had to admit… he was wondering about Johnny. He couldn’t put his finger on it.

Jaehyun only knew that he was very attracted to the tall waiter.

Johnny patted his own chest and finally took a breath through his half-chewed food.

“I’m sorry,” Jaehyun said.

“No. No!” Johnny was shaking his head. He poured more soju and took a desperate gulp since they didn’t have any water. Jaehyun almost laughed.

“I was just… surprised,” Johnny finally sputtered out, still half-choking. “You don’t-- I mean-- me too, me too. I meant to say, me too.”

It took Jaehyun a moment to get what Johnny was trying to say. Then he smiled slowly.

“You like guys, too,” Jaehyun said, clarifying. Johnny’s face was red as he drank some more soju and nodded.

“Try the soup,” Jaehyun said, pushing the small bowl from his side dishes over to him with a laugh.

“I didn’t expect you to say that,” Johnny said before he started gulping down the soup. Jaehyun didn’t know what it was about Johnny’s red face that turned him on, but it certainly did.

“Why not?” Jaehyun asked.

“I don’t know.” Johnny fanned his face. “That soup was hot.”

Jaehyun laughed, openly. This guy was a mess but he was very amusing.

Jaehyun couldn’t remember the last time he had some real fun. Johnny seemed like he would be really fun.

“It’s just too good to be true,” Johnny mumbled. Maybe he thought Jaehyun wouldn’t hear. But he did.

Jaehyun poured the last of the soju in the bottle into his shot glass and tossed it back.

He looked up when someone above them cleared their throat.

A squat woman in a stiff white dress shirt and khakis peered down them sitting at the small table. Johnny jumped to his feet so fast that nearly knocked the table over. Jaehyun grabbed the bowl.

“Excuse me?” the woman said, staring up at Johnny now that he towered over her because he was standing but she still looked like she could squash him with one finger. “What are you doing here?”

“Uh--” Johnny stuttered.

“I’m so sorry, sir.” The woman turned to Jaehyun with a fake nice look on her face. “You were not supposed to be seated here. This isn’t up to our standards. We’ll comp your meal and pack it up, but I’m afraid you’ll have to leave.”

Jaehyun stared back at this woman and then over at Johnny, whose face was turning entirely red. Like dangerously red, not the cute red from earlier.

“I’m fine. I’ll pay,” Jaehyun said. “Johnny took good care of me.”

The look the woman gave Johnny could turn any man into stone. Jaehyun felt bad for him.

“I’m so sorry,” the woman said again, not sounding sorry at all. She grabbed the stone bowl from Jaehyun’s grip. “I’ll pack it up. Thank you so much for understanding.”

Jaehyun didn’t understand at all.

“I can--” Johnny said, reaching for the bowl. The woman screamed, jumped back and somehow, she lost her grip on the bowl. It fell to the floor and broke into big chunks, food splattering everywhere. Jaehyun got to his feet.

“You’re not wearing your gloves!” the woman yelled at Johnny. She hurried away. 

Jaehyun had no idea what was going on, but Johnny was obviously upset. Jaehyun tried calling his name. Johnny didn’t seem to hear. He turned away like Jaehyun wasn’t even there.

Jaehyun grabbed his hand.

Johnny snatched his hand away, turning to look at Jaehyun, terrified. That sealed it for Jaehyun. He had to see Johnny again. Johnny had been so sweet to him. Now he was getting yelled at. Jaehyun wanted to make it up to him.

He needed to know more about this man.

“I’m at the Waldorf Astoria hotel,” Jaehyun said. “Go to the front desk and tell them your name. I’ll leave it up front so they can send you to my room.”

Jaehyun took a step back to the table. He took out his wallet, pulled out a handful of hundred dollar bills and placed them on the table. That should take care of this whole mess he’d created somehow.

He grabbed the soju bottle with his flower.

Johnny was still standing there. Jaehyun walked back over to him. He had to lean up a little to kiss Johnny’s cheek. He loved that.

“Thank you for the flower, Johnny Suh,” Jaehyun whispered, his mouth still close to Johnny’s cheek. “Happy Valentine’s Day. I hope I see you later tonight.”

Jaehyun could feel Johnny’s eyes on him as he walked out of the front door into the freezing Chicago night.

He called his Uber and then he called Jungwoo.

“Hey, Jungwoo,” Jaehyun said. “I need you to contact our concierge at the hotel. I’m going to have a visitor tonight.”


	3. Johnny

Johnny couldn’t believe this was happening. After Yoonoh left, he didn’t move for several moments. All he could do was remember the soft feeling of Yoonoh’s lips on his cheek. He kept reliving the moment over and over again. Honestly, did they really make lips that soft? Johnny didn’t remember.

Maybe Yoonoh was an angel or something. Or an alien.

That would explain a lot.

He told Johnny to come to his hotel tonight.

Johnny didn’t know if he could do it. Because, yes, he could touch Yoonoh now but he didn’t know how long that would last.

Plus, who said Yoonoh wanted to touch him again?

Johnny definitely wanted to touch Yoonoh again. How did his life get so complicated, so fast? He used to only have one rule -- no touching. Now he was thinking it might be possible for him to actually touch the most gorgeous guy he’d ever seen without--

Johnny took a deep breath.

Yoonoh left six 100 dollar bills on the table. So not only was he possibly an alien, he was quite rich. What the hell, Johnny thought. That was way too much. Especially for the way his manager made such a scene. Johnny picked up the money and pocketed it. He was going to give this back to Yoonoh. Maybe aliens didn’t know how money worked in America?

So that meant Johnny was going to see him, again, right?

Johnny’s heart went into overdrive. He hadn’t felt like this in such a long time.

“Here.” His manager returned with a broom and a mop for Johnny to clean up the mess on the floor. “Then I want to speak to you in my office. And for God’s sake, put on some gloves!”

Johnny found a pair of gloves in his pocket and put them on. He took his time cleaning up the mess. He didn’t really want to speak to his manager anyway. He had a feeling he knew what she was going to say.

As expected, when he entered her back office, she cleared her throat.

“John,” she said. ‘We really wanted to make this work. For your parent’s sake. But… there’s just too much of a liability, here. We want people to come to our restaurant and feel safe. You’re being too reckless. We can’t have you making scenes. We don’t want our Yelp reviews to say that they came to the restaurant and got freaked out because the waiter told them something bad that was going to happen in their life. You’re not careful. Plus, you did not listen to my specific orders not to seat anyone else.”

Johnny looked down at the ground. His parents were going to freak.

“I have to let you go, John,” his manager said. “Clear out your locker. Thank you.”

Johnny thought he would be used to this by now.

He grabbed a trash bag and went to this locker. He really didn’t have that much stuff. The first thing he took down was his magnetic mirror. He looked in it one more time. His face. He thought it looked innocent. It also looked pathetic. He ripped off his headband and dropped it in the trash bag. He’d looked so silly the whole time.

It didn’t used to be like this. When he was younger, he only got visions occasionally. People thought it was actually kind of cute. He even said good things, like you’re going to get a puppy at Christmas. His predictions came true. Sometimes he was the hero.

But after puberty, things changed.

He started seeing visions more often when he touched someone. Still, not every time. And it was one vision per person. So if he had touched someone once, saw a vision, and then touched them again, he didn’t see another one.

He thought he could make it work. He thought he could have a normal life.

But in college, his ability kicked into overdrive. He started seeing visions every time he touched someone. At first, Johnny could kind of control it. As long as he didn’t touch someone with his hand, he didn’t see a vision. But then, the rules changed. Now if someone touched him _anywhere_ he saw a vision. It used to happen once per person. Now it was happening every time. He lost all semblance of control.

Even his parents stopped touching him.

Worse than that, every vision he saw became awful. There were no more happy predictions. Only things like loss of job, loss of marriage, loss of property, car accident, disease, pet dying. So much death. Now 75% of his visions were all about death. He saw all sorts of death. Most of the time, it was a grandparent dying. But it had also been a parent. A spouse.

The person themselves.

Johnny hated seeing so much death. He saw how they died. The first time he saw a child die, he didn’t know how he was going to survive it. He couldn’t stop the words from coming out of his mouth. Then he just had to stand there while the person-- this stranger he’d accidentally bumped into at the mall-- dropped to her knees and screamed.

He didn’t stop shaking for days.

So yeah, avoiding touch was just as much for him as it was for others. People thought they wanted to know the future. They didn’t. They really really didn’t.

Johnny didn’t want to know either.

Maybe his wish really had come true, when he blew his eyelash from Yoonoh’s fingers.

He wished to never see the future again.

It would solve most of the problems in his life.

Johnny finished packing up and looked around the locker room one more time. Everyone had already left. There was no one to say goodbye to. Johnny was a sentimental guy. He got attached to people and places easily. Even though this hadn’t been the best job, he was going to miss the place and his fellow co-workers, even the annoying, drunk regulars.

He wondered if they would miss him too.

Probably not.

Johnny put on his big, thick, long coat, his hat, his gloves and stuffed his trash bag into his backpack before shrugging it on.

Then he took a deep breath and headed out into the night.

The L wasn’t too far away. It was quite a journey back to the ‘burbs. He had to take the commuter rail and that took over an hour. Johnny sold his car a couple of months ago. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have had enough money to buy a plane ticket to Seoul. They were quite expensive.

He started walking.

The cold bit him in the face. He’d forgotten his scarf, so he was miserable. It was a little after 10:30pm on Valentine’s Day. Johnny Suh was headed home alone, once again.

He heard Yoonoh’s voice in his head.

_I hope I see you tonight._

The Waldorf Astoria Hotel.

He’d be crazy to go. What if--

He’d be crazy not to go.

 _Johnny, take a chance,_ he thought.

It could be so dangerous.

Or it could be amazing.

The bellhop looked at Johnny with disdain when he walked in the super fancy five-star hotel but stepped aside. Everyone who worked there was impeccably dressed. They all looked like they had their shit together. Johnny’s hair was slightly damp because on his walk over there, it had begun to snow.

Johnny stepped up to the front desk.

“Reservation?” the woman behind the counter said, looking at him like she was sure he didn’t have a reservation.

“Uh,” Johnny stuttered. “My name is Johnny Suh. My…” Johnny’s what? Friend? Client? Guy he met once an hour ago? “Yoonoh… he told me to leave my name… here.”

Johnny’s heart was beating a million miles a minute. What if this was a big scam? He’d be just the type to fall for a romance scam. There was probably a big Russian man waiting in the room to clobber him over his head and take the money he didn’t have.

 _Wouldn’t it be handy if you could tell the future when you wanted to, John?_ He thought, sarcastically.

The woman behind the counter picked up the phone. 

“Hello, he’s here,” she said in the phone. Then she nodded and hung up. She met Johnny’s eyes once again.

“You can go up,” she said, pointing at the elevators behind him. “Floor 23.”

Johnny had never been in such a large elevator. There was an elevator attendant who pushed a button and turned a key before they got started. Johnny tried not to breathe too hard. The walls were mirrored. He looked like a big, tall, goofy, wet-haired dork. Why didn’t Johnny wear something nice to work today? He looked good in pink.

The elevator doors opened.

Straight into a hotel room.

More like a whole damn house.

Yoonoh was standing there, waiting, holding a bottle of wine.

“Hi, Johnny,” he said, with his heartstopping smile. “I’m glad you could make it. Come in.”

Johnny stumbled off the elevator. Seriously, where was he? Was he dead? Did he just take an elevator up into heaven?

He couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

The room was huge, the size of at least six of Johnny’s bedrooms put together. The first thing he saw was a slick kitchen and an even slicker living area with a huge flat screen that practically took up the entirety of the wall.

But what caught his eye the most-- even more than Yoonoh-- was the view.

The back walls were all floor to ceiling panel windows. Beyond the windows were Johnny’s city, Chicago, looking so regal and beautiful in the night. So many lights, so many tall buildings, the night was clear so he could see the stars and just the hint of the Chicago River so far away.

Johnny had never seen Chicago like this before.

“Oh wow,” he breathed out.

“Yeah,” Yoonoh said, with a chuckle. “It’s a bit much for just me.”

“Wait, are you like, rich?” Johnny turned to Yoonoh, the words just falling out of his mouth.

Yoonoh shrugged with a laugh. “I don’t know.”

“Oh yeah.” Johnny took off his backpack, unzipped it and fished around until he found the money in one of the inside pockets. He held it out to Yoonoh. “This is way too much. The meal was on the house.”

Yoonoh shook his head. “No, I can pay. I meant for you all to keep that.”

“We can’t,” Johnny said. His manager didn’t deserve it anyway and now Johnny was fired so he couldn’t keep the money either.

“You keep it,” Yoonoh insisted. “It’s a tip.”

“No, no, no.” Johnny set the money on the nearest surface, the breakfast nook in the kitchen. He shook his head.

Yoonoh looked a little amused. “Okay,” he said.

Johnny followed Yoonoh over to the living room area where there were a couple of couches, a few chairs, a coffee table and a bar area. Yoonoh went to the bar area and put the wine bottle down on top of the bar. He grabbed a wine glass.

“Do you drink wine?” Yoonoh asked.

Did he drink wine? Johnny gaped at him. Then he realized he should probably talk. “Yes, thank you,” he said. “I love wine.”

“Me too,” Yoonoh said. “I like trying kinds all over the world. I was thinking a sweet red? Because it’s Valentine’s Day.”

Something about the way Yoonoh said that and looked at Johnny made him blush. Johnny nodded.

“I hope you like it,” Yoonoh said, pouring them each a glass. “Take off your coat. Get comfortable. Sit down. You can throw your stuff in the closet over there, if you want.”

Johnny went to the closet and hung his coat up, stuffing his hat and gloves in the pockets. He put his backpack on the floor. He still felt like he was in a daze or a dream. Who was this guy?

When he was done, he sat on the couch. Yoonoh sat next to him and handed him a glass of wine.

“Another toast to Valentine’s Day,” Yoonoh said. They clinked glasses. Johnny watched Yoonoh as they both took a sip. The wine was very smooth, rich, warm on the way down and left the right amount of sweetness lingering in his mouth.

“This is very good,” Johnny said.

“Thanks. Wine is sort of a hobby.”

Johnny wished wine could be his hobby. He was stuck getting the two-dollar bottles from Trader Joe’s. This guy really was rich.

“You’re from Korea?” Johnny asked. He wanted to know more about Yoonoh.

Yoonoh nodded. “Yeah. That’s where I was born and where I live now… have lived for a long time. But when I was a kid, I lived in the States for a few years.”

“Oh?” Johnny widened his eyes. So that explained Yoonoh’s English. “Where?”

“New Jersey. Ever heard of it?”

Johnny stifled a laugh. “Yeah, it’s a state. That’s cool. Do you ever want to live here again?”

Yoonoh shook his head and then gave a little shrug. “I don’t know… what about you? You always lived in America?”

“Born and raised in Chicago. Never left it. This is my hometown.” Johnny smiled, proudly.

“Have you ever been to Korea?”

“No. But I--” Johnny cut himself off. He was going to mention that he was going to Korea for the first time in 3 months, but that might lead to questions. Johnny didn’t want any questions like that.

“Your family is Korean, though?” Yoonoh asked.

“Yeah, they are. So that’s me. Korean-American. But mostly American.”

Yoonoh leaned back against the couch cushions and smiled. He seemed to be looking him over. Johnny might even described it as he felt like Yoonoh was drinking him in.

“You like Valentine’s Day so much,” Yoonoh said, out of nowhere. “How come you don’t have a date?”

Johnny laughed a little, looking down at his lap. God, the things he could say to that question.

“I don’t know,” he mumbled. “It’s a long story…”

“I have a question for you,” Yoonoh said. “It’s a little forward.”

“Okay.” Johnny drank some more of his wine.

“Feel free to say no.”

Johnny nodded, listening.

“I was wondering…” Yoonoh said. He was looking deep into Johnny’s eyes. Johnny didn’t dare look away.

“Would you like to have sex with me tonight?”

Johnny would have spit wine everywhere if he had any in his mouth. He’d already swallowed. Instead his mouth just dropped open. Okay, Yoonoh kissed him on the cheek, invited him to his hotel room, gave him wine and it was Valentine’s Day but… Johnny hadn’t been expecting that question at all.

Johnny started breathing faster.

Was he absolutely sure he wasn’t dead?

His mouth wouldn’t move.

“You can say no,” Yoonoh said, with a little laugh.

Johnny’s mind was racing. Would this actually work? Could he risk it? What if… everything fell apart in the middle, just like every other time?

What if this was his chance?

What if his wish came true?

He wanted this so badly.

Johnny leaned into Yoonoh and pressed a kiss to his lips.

Yoonoh tasted like the wine. His lips were soft. He kissed Johnny back immediately, bringing his free hand to cup the side of Johnny’s face. Johnny liked the way Yoonoh leaned into him, caressed the side of his face, kissed him like he wasn’t afraid.

Johnny didn’t want to be afraid anymore.

They pulled away after a few minutes. Yoonoh grinned at him.

“Is that a yes?” he asked.

Johnny meant to be flirty and smooth back. But he hesitated.

Yoonoh’s smile faltered a little. “Like I said, you don’t have to. In fact… am I pressuring you? We can just kiss. We can just hang out. I just… I think you’re really hot and… uh… yeah.”

Johnny nearly choked on his own spit. Yoonoh thought he was hot?!

“No, no,” Johnny said, shaking his head. “That’s not it. I want to--”

He meant to continue but he hesitated again. Johnny had this fantasy plenty of times. He told himself that if he ever got the chance he was going to go for it, he would fake it. He wouldn’t say anything. They’d never know. But now that he was in the moment, it was all falling apart.

“I’m pushy,” Yoonoh said. “I’m sorry.” He leaned in and kissed Johnny’s cheek. “Let’s chill.”

“No,” Johnny tried again. He took a deep breath and then forced himself to meet Yoonoh’s eyes. “I want to. I just… I haven’t before.”

They sat in silence for a moment. Then Yoonoh’s curious voice: “You mean you haven’t had sex before?”

Johnny nodded.

“Oh.”

The silence returned. _Well_ , Johnny thought, _way to kill the mood_. It was better to be a 25-year-old virgin in his own bedroom than in the sweetest hotel room ever with the hottest guy ever.

Johnny got up to leave.

Yoonoh grabbed his wrist. “Wait,” he said. “Don’t go. It’s okay. Let’s talk.”

Johnny allowed Yoonoh to pull him back down to the couch but he refused to look at him.

“Why?” Yoonoh asked.

Johnny couldn’t even begin to answer that. _Well, Yoonoh, because whenever I touch someone I have this horrible vision about their future and then I tell them and they freak out and hate me. That’s kind of why._

He couldn’t say that. He just shrugged.

Yoonoh hadn’t let go of his wrist. God, it felt so good to be touched, just a simple one. He could savor it forever.

“Are you waiting for love?” Yoonoh asked. Johnny finally looked at him again. “You seem like a guy who would wait for love.”

“No,” Johnny said, truthfully, even though love would be nice. “It just… hasn’t happened.”

Yoonoh looked like he wanted to say something but he didn’t. Instead he did something very surprising.

He slid over onto Johnny’s lap.

Johnny swallowed hard. Yoonoh was straddling his lap. He was looking down at him.

“Look,” Yoonoh said, running his fingers through Johnny’s slightly damp hair. “It doesn’t bother me. Sex is fun. I could show you if you want? What position do you want to try? What have you… fantasized about?”

Johnny swallowed again. Yeah, he was hard. How could he not be? This incredibly hot guy was on top of him, asking him what position he wanted to try? Johnny could hardly think.

“Uh…” Johnny said. “I don’t know.”

“I switch…” Yoonoh said. “So… I think… it’ll probably be easier for you to top? Because your first time as a bottom can be a lot of work.”

Johnny nodded, numbly. Was this really happening?

Yoonoh chuckled, rolling his hips on top of Johnny so his ass rubbed against Johnny’s crotch. Yeah, Yoonoh could tell he was hard. Yoonoh leaned down and kissed the side of Johnny’s neck.

“Relax,” he said, softly against Johnny’s ear. “I’ll make you feel good. No pressure. We’re going to have fun. But if you don’t like anything… or you change your mind at any time… just tell me and we’ll stop. Okay?”

Johnny nodded again and then Yoonoh’s lips were on his, smothering him in yet another heated kiss. 

All this kissing, all this touching and nothing had happened. Nothing, nothing. Johnny saw nothing. No frightening visions of the future. Absolutely nothing.

His eyes were closed and he saw nothing. All he felt was Yoonoh’s lips moving over his. Yoonoh’s tongue sweeping through his mouth, twisting around his own tongue. Yoonoh’s hands sliding under his shirt. Yoonoh’s hips gyrating on top of him, brushing his sweet ass back and forth against Johnny’s tight tight jeans.

He felt his own racing heart..

 _Please_ , Johnny prayed to whoever was out there, whoever would listen, whoever was in charge of this curse that had ruined his entire life.

Except for this one night.

 _Please,_ Johnny prayed _. Please make this last.._


	4. Jaehyun

Jaehyun knew Johnny was full of surprises.

A virgin. He never would have guessed.

It actually turned him on.

Jaehyun lost his virginity at 16. There was a lot of free time on set. A lot of time to hide in the closet and fool around with a good-looking person, doing things that would make them both feel good. Jaehyun had had all sorts of sex throughout the years with a lot of different people. His public persona was a bit cold, a bit untouchable, but very polite and kind. All of his fans probably assumed he was a virgin, since he’d never had a public relationship. They would assume Johnny had been around the block.

They would be wrong.

That thought  _ really _ turned him on.

Jaehyun was going to enjoy this.

He spent a few minutes straddling Johnny's lap and kissing Johnny to help him relax. First up and down his neck, nice and slow. He gently kissed that spot right under Johnny’s ear that he knew would make him moan. He kissed Johnny all over his face, taking in all his beauty. Johnny really was an exquisite looking man. And he was a really good kisser. Their lips just slotted together like they were made to fit that way. But Jaehyun could tell he hadn’t been kissed much. It wasn’t in his technique. It was in the way Johnny looked at him. Johnny looked at Jaehyun like he couldn’t believe Jaehyun would want to be with him. Which was crazy, because Johnny’s looks were amazing and any guy who would geek out over Valentine’s Day surely had a big heart.

Why wouldn’t Jaehyun want to be with him?

This was going to be a really fun birthday.

“You’re so gorgeous,” Jaehyun whispered against Johnny’s lips, kissing him again. He sighed softly as Johnny circled his arms around his waist. He could feel Johnny relaxing underneath him as their mouths moved together, their kisses becoming deeper. He moaned against Johnny’s lips.

“How are you feeling?” Jaehyun panted against Johnny’s lips.

“Good,” Johnny grunted. He grinned, reaching between Johnny’s legs and palming over his tented jeans. Johnny was really hard. He was really big, too. Jaehyun unzipped Johnny’s jeans to help him release the pressure.

“This okay…?” Jaehyun looked up at Johnny, smiled at the way his eyes were so blissfully closed. “Can I touch you?” He kissed the underside of Johnny’s jaw, scraped his teeth very gentle over the hint of stubble that he found there.

“Mmm--” Johnny grunted again. “Yes.” 

Jaehyun grinned, nipping Johnny there, ever so lightly. Johnny groaned, deep in the back of his throat. Jaehyun kept rubbing Johnny through his underwear, feeling his warm, throbbing, rock hard cock through the thin cotton fabric. Johnny felt so good. Jaehyun liked teasing himself like this, touching Johnny through his underwear. But he wanted to wrap his hand around the real thing. 

Jaehyun pressed his open mouth against Johnny’s, half-kissing him, half attempting to swallow him whole. Johnny groaned, his warm breath fanning over Jaehyun’s face. Jaehyun licked at Johnny’s top lip and then leaned up to suck him there, breathing hard.

“Johnny…” Jaehyun said again. Even his name was hot. Jaehyun had never messed around with a Johnny before. It was so manly. So American. Fucking hot. “I want to… touch you… is that okay?”

“Yes,” Johnny groaned. His eyes were closed. His chest was heaving as he was breathing hard. 

“I’m gonna make you come,” Jaehyun said, kissing the side of Johnny’s neck. “Okay?”

Getting the first nut out of the way was always the best option. Then they could spend more time fooling around. Jaehyun wanted to make sure they had a good time.

“Say okay, Johnny,” Jaehyun said, kissing the corner of Johnny’s mouth. He grinned. He could tell Johnny was loving this and Jaehyun had barely gotten started. He loved making someone feel good.

“Okay--” Johnny said. Jaehyun slid off Johnny’s lap so he could have better access as he pushed Johnny’s underwear down just enough to release his cock. It sprung out like a damn genie in a bottle that was trapped for 300 years. Jaehyun almost burst out into delighted laughter. Johnny was so fucking big. Jaehyun was really going to have to prep himself to take that dick.

“Fuck, Johnny…” Jaehyun breathed out, looking over Johnny’s cock and then grinning, looking in his eyes. “Has anyone ever… played with you before?”

Johnny shook his head, looking down at Jaehyun, breathing hard. Jaehyun could see it in the way Johnny’s cock quivered and leaked. There was so much pent up need inside of there. How was this possible? Jaehyun thought. Jaehyun wanted to know more about this virgin story. 

He wanted to know more about Johnny.

Jaehyun rubbed his thumb over Johnny’s slit and Johnny’s hips jumped as he gasped out in pleasure. Jaehyun grinned, rubbing his thumb back and forth slowly. Johnny reached out and gripped the arm of the couch.

“Oh fuck--” Johnny gasped out.

Jaehyun considered sliding his mouth over Johnny’s dick. He was dying to taste him. But he decided he would try it a little later. Now, he began moving his hand up and down, feeling Johnny’s cock throbbing underneath him. Johnny was leaking so much pre-come, Jaehyun had no trouble moving his hand quickly. Sometimes he teased him with his fingers, rubbing him softly or sliding a finger down that pulsating vein on the underside of his cock. Most of the time, he had his whole fist wrapped around Johnny's cock, his fingers stretched to the limit as he jacked Johnny off. Jaehyun watched Johnny carefully. His eyes were closed. He was moaning the whole time.

“Mmmmm….” Jaehyun kissed Johnny’s jaw and then his lips. He jerked Johnny off faster, feeling his breath hitch. He knew he was right on the edge.

“Johnny…” Jaehyun said, as he saw Johnny grit his teeth. “It’s my birthday… say Yoonoh, I wanna fuck you so bad.”

“Yoonoh…” Johnny grunted. “I wanna fuck you so bad.” Jaehyun had never fucked someone who called him by his legal name. It was strangely hot. It felt like Yoonoh was a different person. In some way, this was going to be Yoonoh’s first time, too.

“I wanna fuck you so bad, too, Johnny,” Jaehyun moaned out, jerking Johnny off with too hands now. Johnny gasped, sucking in a harsh breath. Then his hips shook and jerked against Jaehyun’s hands hard.

“Y-Yoonoh!” Johnny cried out, coming hard, thick ropes of come. So much of it. Jaehyun grinned, stroking Johnny through his orgasm as Johnny continued to rock and moan. When he was finished, they were both breathing hard. He used half a box of tissues trying to clean up. They didn't work well but he was too lazy to get up. Jaehyun tucked Johnny back in, zipped him up and gave Johnny a sweet kiss. 

“Oh Johnny…” Jaehyun said, against Johnny’s lips. “Do you even jerk off?”

Johnny laughed, still breathing hard. “Now I’m going to jerk off to that every day,” Johnny said.

“There’s more where that came from,” Jaehyun whispered in Johnny’s ear. Jaehyun felt his own hardness stirring between his legs. But there would be plenty of time for that later.

“Happy birthday, Yoonoh,” Johnny said, surprising Jaehyun with a forceful kiss. Jaehyun blinked before closing his eyes and kissing Johnny back. He groaned with Johnny’s tongue sliding deep in his mouth.

“Happy birthday,” Johnny murmured against his lips.

“Happy Valentine’s Day,” Jaehyun said back.

“You have the perfect birthday,” Johnny said. Jaehyun laughed, kissing Johnny again. Even his fascination with Valentine’s Day was sexy. How had nobody touched this man before?

Jaehyun still couldn’t believe it.

“Johnny.” Jaehyun stood up with a grunt. He reached out both hands for Johnny and pulled him up. “How do you feel?”

“Amazing…” Johnny said. Jaehyun could tell by the look on his face that it was the truth. He leaned up to give Johnny a kiss. When would he be able to do that again? When was he going to find another tall, hot guy to get on his toes to kiss?

Jaehyun knew he needed to enjoy it while it lasted.

“More wine…” Jaehyun led Johnny back over to the bar area. He grabbed the bottle of wine he’d opened but Johnny shook his head.

“More you,” he said, kissing Jaehyun again. The kiss made Jaehyun’s toes curl.

He wasn’t usually that type of person.

Jaehyun pulled away and took a slug of the wine from the bottle. He wasn’t usually that type of a person either. He insisted on stemware. He handed the bottle to Johnny. He watched Johnny take a drink. Johnny’s mouth was so hot. Jaehyun took a deep breath.

“Let’s take a shower,” Jaehyun said. “That’s the best way to get started.”

“Yeah, because you got me kind of messy…” Johnny said, with a grin.

Jaehyun wiggled his fingers at Johnny, still somewhat sticky. “You got me kind of messy, too.”

They both laughed.

Jaehyun felt something he didn’t usually feel when he was doing something like this. A warmth in the middle of his chest. He wasn’t sure what it meant. It was something different than being turned on because of Johnny’s huge dick or how tall he was.

Jaehyun was so charmed by Johnny’s smile.

Fucking Valentine’s Day and that pink rose.

He told himself to get it together.

“Um…” Jaehyun said, placing a finger on Johnny’s chest. “Before we take a shower, I… want to tell you something.”

Johnny nodded, drinking more wine from the bottle. His tongue chased a drop caught in the corner of his lips. Jaehyun swallowed hard.

“What’s that?” Johnny asked.

“I’m leaving tomorrow,” Jaehyun said, to remind them both of the reality of this situation. “Back to Korea.”

Johnny looked surprised for a second. Then he nodded.

“So…” Jaehyun let his voice trail off for a moment. “Yeah. I just… you know. I won’t see you again after this.” Jaehyun looked at Johnny and spoke quickly, anticipating his next question. “I don’t give out my number.”

Johnny stood there. Jaehyun watched him. The strangest thing about this night was how Jaehyun was kind of wishing that this didn't have to be a one night thing. 

“Okay,” Johnny said after a moment.

“Okay.” Jaehyun nodded. Johnny put the wine bottle down.

For a moment, Jaehyun thought Johnny was going to walk away. Jaehyun could tell. Johnny was a romantic. He really didn’t want to lose his virginity to a one night stand. Jaehyun waited for Johnny to change his mind. And, truthfully, that was really going to suck.

But Johnny didn’t leave.

Instead, he unzipped his pants again and dropped them to the floor.

Along with his underwear.

“Yoonoh,” Johnny breathed, stepping in closer. Jaehyun felt his heart start to race. Johnny swept one arm around him and kissed him hard. Jaehyun groaned against his lips. “Yoonoh, I wanna fuck you so bad.”

Jaehyun pressed his body against Johnny’s, felt his warm cock against his stomach. They kissed frantically, the friction electric between their lips. Jaehyun was suddenly rock hard. He couldn’t control it anymore.

Johnny felt incredible.

“Let’s go take a shower,” Jaehyun growled playfully against Johnny’s lips.

Johnny lifted him up and carried him there. Just like Jaehyun always wanted.


	5. Johnny

Johnny decided that one night was perfect.

No time for questions the next day about why Johnny was wearing gloves all the time. No awkwardness if Johnny wasn’t good at this and came in two seconds like he did a few minutes ago when Yoonoh jerked him off.

No lingering feelings.

Because Johnny didn’t know how long this miracle was going to last.

He wanted to live in the moment. He wanted not to think about anything else but this. His opportunity to touch someone, kiss someone, be with someone. Finally. _Finally_.

On Valentine’s Day.

He wasn’t going to waste a single second.

Johnny carried Yoonoh to the bathroom, Yoonoh’s legs around his waist, Johnny’s arms under Yoonoh’s butt, Yoonoh’s arms around his neck. Yoonoh was heavier than Johnny thought. He looked thin but he was solid. Johnny wondered what he was hiding under all those clothes.

“Johnny, you’re so fucking strong,” Yoonoh groaned. Johnny set Yoonoh down on top of the counter and kissed him hard. 

The bathroom was huge. A family could sleep in there. The shower was even bigger. Way more than enough room for two. Johnny expected showering with Yoonoh to be all awkwardly slipping around in a white bathtub. The shower was nothing like that. It was made of marble and granite, all glass walls, with 6 shower heads, all over, with different heights.

“Johnny…” Yoonoh practically whined with need against Johnny’s lips as Johnny continued to kiss him. The sound of his name being used to convey such ecstasy caused Johnny’s cock to jump to attention once again. Recently, Johnny had been thinking of asking everyone to call him “John” now since he had just turned 25. He wasn’t a kid. But the way Yoonoh moaned his name was making him seriously reconsider.

Johnny groaned against Yoonoh’s slick lips and moved his mouth down to greedily nip and suck at the side of Yoonoh’s neck. Yoonoh didn’t stop him, only moaned louder. He bit down on Yoonoh’s neck, ground the delicate skin between his teeth, feeling the bruise start to bloom. He ran his tongue over the mark and sucked at Yoonoh’s neck again. He’d never done this before but it just came naturally. Yoonoh tipped his head to the side and panted out his name. Johnny knew they’d never see each other again after this, but he’d make sure that Yoonoh had something to remember him by.

“Ah!” Yoonoh cried out, when Johnny bit him again. “God…” Yoonoh reached out, his hand slipping between Johnny’s legs and grabbing Johnny’s hard cock. Yoonoh’s eyes had been closed for so long, Johnny didn’t realize that he’d noticed.

“You’re fast,” Yoonoh murmured.

“You’re hot,” Johnny whispered in Yoonoh’s ear.

“I’m gonna love this…” Yoonoh said. He tipped his head back and Johnny found his lips again. They kissed heatedly, greedily, loud smacking noises filling the large bathroom, as Yoonoh reached for Johnny’s cock. Johnny felt a shiver run down his spine when Yoonoh started stroking him again. They could do this all night. He would love it.

But Johnny was ready for the real thing.

“You know I’ve never taken a cock that big?” Yoonoh whispered against Johnny’s mouth.

“Huh?” Johnny panted back.

“You’re huge.”

Johnny looked down at himself. Really?

“Is it okay?” Johnny asked, suddenly getting nervous.

Yoonoh laughed and grabbed Johnny’s shoulder, dragging him down into another kiss that caused Johnny to get even harder.

“I haven’t seen you yet,” Johnny whispered. He pulled away from Yoonoh with a grin.

“Mmmm, now I’m shy,” Yoonoh said. They both laughed. Johnny stared into Yoonoh’s eyes as he straightened up and pulled off his shirt so now he was completely naked.

“Oh, wow--” Yoonoh breathed. He reached out and grabbed Johnny’s arms. “God… you are so hot--”

Johnny smiled, proudly. He got to show off the guns and Yoonoh seemed really turned on. Way better than some drunken husbands grabbing him. Yoonoh leaned into him and bit down on Johnny’s right biceps. Johnny shivered hard.

“So hot…” Yoonoh groaned again.

“Take off your clothes,” Johnny said. “It’s time for a shower.”

He watched Yoonoh slip off the counter and then pull his sweater off over his head. He dropped it on the floor. Johnny took a step back and stared.

“Oh.”

Yoonoh was _hot_.

Johnny had been expecting something but not what he saw. Yoonoh’s abs were from a men’s health magazine cover. They were stacked. Tight, rows and rows of perfect abs, not an ounce of body fat on him. His pecs looked like they were chisled from gold with perfect, pert nipples. His shoulders were broad, his arms ripped. Johnny wanted to drop to his knees and scream that he wasn’t worthy. He felt like a scrawny twig next to Yoonoh. He had only been working on his guns in the gym.

“What--” Johnny sputtered out. “Are you real? Do you take steroids?”

Yoonoh laughed, taking off his jeans and underwear. The rest of him was just as hot. Those thighs and that dick. What was he talking about? Saying Johnny was huge. Yoonoh was big and he was hard, leaking and ready.

Johnny did that to him. He turned on this super hot, practically perfect specimen of a man.

Someone who looked like Yoonoh was attracted to Johnny.

God, it was such a rush.

“What do you do?” Johnny demanded. He had to know. Yoonoh had to be a goddamn bodybuilder. Did bodybuilders get rich?

Yoonoh chuckled, shuffling around Johnny to get to the shower. He turned all the shower heads on and stood in the middle. Johnny swallowed hard, watching every area of Yoonoh’s body become dripping wet. He forgot his question.

“C’mere, baby,” Yoonoh mewled, crooking a finger at Johnny. It didn’t take Johnny more than a moment before he was in the shower, closing the glass door behind him. The shower instantly became foggy, steam rising up between them.

Johnny backed Yoonoh up against the marble walls and kissed him hard. His hands went _everywhere_. Up and down Yoonoh’s tight sides, over his even tighter abs, squeezing his pecs, squeezing his neck, around to caress his back, down to grope his ass, really to grope his ass, he stayed groping his ass.

Yoonoh’s ass was perfect. Each ass cheek was the perfect size for Johnny’s large hands. How did this man get such an amazing ass along with everything else? No one was that lucky. No one.

But Yoonoh was.

And now, Johnny was, too.

Yoonoh shivered and moaned underneath his touch. Johnny delighted in being able to make Yoonoh feel this way. Especially on his birthday. Johnny was a bit of a perfectionist. Whatever he did, he wanted to do the best job. He was going to make sure he pleased Yoonoh to the best of his abilities, even though it was his first time.

Once he was done touching-- actually, he wasn’t done touching, he’d never be done touching-- he pulled his hands away from Yoonoh and trapped him against the wall, pressing his body against Yoonoh’s slightly shorter one. Yoonoh hissed underneath him. Johnny could feel his chest contract from the intake of breath. Johnny grabbed Yoonoh’s hands, pulled them over his head and pressed them against the wall, lacing their fingers together. Yoonoh’s fingers squeezed his fingers back.

They kissed again, faces pressed together, hungry, deep kisses, Johnny openly licking inside of Yoonoh’s mouth. Yoonoh was breathing hard, sometimes kissing him back, sometimes just taking it with his mouth open, groans leaking out like the pre-come leaking out of Johnny’s dick. Not that they could really tell, The water was pulsating down on top of them, making everything wet. It wasn’t a constant spray, it was a pulse, so it resembled something more like rain, gently and warm yet still so damn alluring.

Johnny rubbed his body against Yoohoh’s, feeling both their cocks trapped between them. He quickly discovered the pleasure of rubbing them together. Yoonoh moved with him, pressing his hips back against Johnny’s in fast, little, jerks. The heat of the water and drug of Yoonoh’s body was making Johnny feel lightheaded. He dropped his head on top of Yoonoh’s shoulder and bit him there.

Yoonoh released Johnny's hands and grabbed Johnny’s cock. He started stroking Johnny hard. Johnny panted as Yoonoh’s hand moved up and down. After a moment, he reached out to grab Yoonoh as well and their hands crashed.

“Ow!” Yoonoh said, after the audible smack. Johnny shook his hand out and laughed.

“So eager,” Yoonoh teased. “Okay, do me.”

Johnny was finally able to wrap his hand around Yoonoh’s thick cock. Wow, it was different touching a dick that wasn’t his own. He felt Yoonoh pulsing under his palm. Yoonoh’s cock was hard, just like he expected, but at the same time his skin was soft like… did he use lotion on his dick? Did he think Johnny was like an elephant down there? The thought made Johnny laugh so instead, he gave Yoonoh a hard kiss.

“Mmmmph?” Yoonoh grunted in Johnny’s mouth.

“I really like your dick,” Johnny explained.

“Then do something with it,” Yoonoh growled.

Johnny laughed but looking at Yoonoh’s turned on face sobered him up quick. He pressed himself against Yoonoh again and kissed the side of his neck, sucking at his warm, wet skin. Yoonoh groaned deeply under his touch. Now he started stroking Yoonoh's cock, giving a greedy sigh against the side of Yoonoh’s neck. Did Yoonoh know how lucky he was just to take this for granted? Having someone touch you with no fear? Johnny hadn’t known what that was like until now.

It was incredible.

“Okay, baby…” Yoonoh panted. “A little slower… oh…”

Johnny blushed a bit, slowing his hand down. He guess he’d gotten a little too excited. He tried think about what he would like. Yoonoh was right, he shouldn’t be jacking him off like a 16 year old with a five minute shower limit. He slid his hand up with more purpose now, brushed his thumb over the tip of Yoonoh’s cock and watched him shiver. He twisted his hand at the base of Yoonoh’s cock. How could he be so warm? Warmer than the water? He loved stroking the vein along the underside and watching Yoonoh jump. He traced his finger along the rim of the head of Yoonoh’s cock, taking it all in. He could touch Yoonoh all night. He was loving it.

But they didn’t have all night.

It only took him a few minutes to find a rhythm that had Yoonoh’s eyes closed and his chest heaving with every heavy moan. He kept moving his hand like that, not too slow, not too fast, and kissed Yoonoh’s neck and his throat all over. He brushed his lips over that blossoming love bite he left on Yoonoh’s neck. He loved the thought of Yoonoh looking at it in a couple of days, when it was really dark, purple and nasty, and thinking of him.

“Johnny…” Yoonoh purred, reaching around to grab the back of Johnny’s neck, pressing down on it. “Yes…”

Johnny grinned against Yoonoh’s neck, loving the validation. He was breathing hard along with Yoonoh. Just the feeling of Yoonoh’s cock in his hand turned him on like nothing else. He might even come without Yoonoh touching him again. He already felt close.

He bit Yoonoh lightly where his mouth lay, nestled in the space between Yoonoh’s shoulder and neck. Yoonoh shivered underneath him, breathing out a heated sigh. Johnny felt Yoonoh throbbing so much, but he wanted to get him closer.

“J-Johnny…” Yoonoh grunted out. “Can… you… touch my ass… like my asshole… slide your finger between my cheeks…”

Johnny’s breath hitched. This was the point, right? They wanted to have sex so Johnny should be able to touch him there. But he felt a bit nervous. He’d only seen this kind of stuff in porn. Johnny didn’t even touch his own ass.

“Yes, baby…” Yoonoh sighed, even though Johnny hadn’t done anything yet. “Touch me there… your fingers are so long…”

Johnny cupped the side of Yoonoh’s ass and gave it a soft squeeze. Then he slid his hand around and traced his finger along the seam of Yoonoh’s ass crack. Yoonoh arched his back a little with a moan. Wow, Johnny thought. He really liked that.

Johnny rubbed his hand over the curve of Yoonoh’s ass. Then he slid his fingers down between the grooves, groping around a bit awkwardly until he pressed his finger against Yoonoh’s hole. Yoonoh jumped a little with a sharp gasp.

“Are you okay?” Johnny whispered.

“Fuck yes,” Yoonoh said. “That’s the spot, baby. You got it. I like it…”

Johnny touched him there again, curiously. Yoonoh sucked in another sharp breath. Yoonoh’s hole was soft and springy at the same time. Johnny traced the outside of it slowly, noting the size. Then he tried to push his fingertip inside. Yoonoh was so tight, he couldn’t do much more than press his the pad of the tip of his finger against it.

“Oh!” Yoonoh cried out sharply. “Johnny!” He laughed, his shoulders shaking a little. “We’ll get there, babe, just rub it for now.”

Johnny chuckled a little too, half-turned on and half flustered. But he figured out how to play with Yoonoh’s hole and his cock at the same time, stroking him with one hand, using a finger on his other hand to brush and down in the crease between Yoonoh’s creeks and teasing his hole.

“Ahhhh haaaa…” Yoonoh groaned. “I’m… yes… I’m--”

Johnny could feel Yoonoh shaking underneath him. It made him feel bolder. He quickened his pace, stroking Yoonoh’s cock a bit faster. He rubbed over Yoonoh’s hole and then slid his finger down to find that spot between Yoonoh’s balls and his ass. He pressed down gently.

“Oh!” Yoonoh cried out. “Fuck! Johnny!”

Before Johnny could ask Yoonoh if he’d done something wrong, Yoonoh leaned up and kissed him so hard that Johnny couldn’t breathe. He felt Yoonoh shaking underneath his hand, felt the warmth that was thicker than water and realized that Yoonoh was coming all over.

Johnny grinned, stepped back just enough to watch him. Damn, it was hot.

“Look what you do to me…” Yoonoh whispered, leaning in to lick Johnny’s upper lip. “I wanna see you… make yourself come all over me.”

Johnny laughed a little but he didn’t have to be told twice. He let go of Yoonoh’s quivering cock. Yoonoh leaned back against the tiles, rubbing over his own cock through the rest of his high. Johnny grabbed himself and started jacking off, more at the 16 year old in the shower speed but that was how he felt. Yoonoh had him so riled up and the shower was really hot for so many reasons. They were in more of a sauna.

Johnny closed his eyes, breathing hard as he worked himself with both hands.

“You’re so big, Johnny,” Yoonoh drawled. “You can’t even handle yourself.”

That made Johnny laugh a little. “But you can handle me, right?”

“I’m gonna fucking make it work.”

Hearing Yoonoh swear was so hot. Thinking about somehow pushing his dick into that tight, little hole was even hotter. Johnny didn’t even need five minutes. All of a sudden he was coming all over, shooting his come over Yoonoh’s abs and chest but it was instantly washed away by the spray of the water. Yoonoh groaned and rubbed at it anyway.

“Fuck, Johnny…” Yoonoh said. They were both breathing hard. 

Johnny was having fun and he knew that showers were sexy, but also, he wanted to get out of there. He was starting to overheat.

Yoonoh stepped to the side and fiddled with the shower knobs. “You’re getting all red.” Johnny breathed a sigh of relief when cooler water began to fall over them. Yoonoh leaned in and kissed the corner of Johnny’s mouth.

“Let’s get washed up for real,” he said. “How are you feeling?”

“Fucking amazing,” Johnny said. Yoonoh grinned and kissed Johnny again.

Johnny watched Yoonoh grab the washcloth and some soap. First he washed himself down and then he turned his attention to Johnny. How could even a shower feel so amazing and sexy? Yoonoh washed him everywhere. Johnny didn’t know the last time his back had been so clean. He figured he probably shouldn’t mention that. He watched Yoonoh wash himself again.

“I wanna make sure you know I’m really clean,” Yoonoh said, his body wet and dripping with soap. He couldn’t be hotter if he tried. Johnny sucked him his breath as he watched Yoonoh scrub between his cheeks really well. He started breathing faster when Yoonoh turned around in front of him and bent over. He lost his breath when Yoonoh spread his cheeks apart and he got a clear view of that pert, pink hole. Wow, he was so smooth.

“Am I clean, Johnny?” Yoonoh asked, in a playful sing-song voice. “Because… later, I want you to kiss it.”

Johnny leaned over and kissed Yoonoh there, no hesitation. He got soap in his mouth and Yoonoh laughed, straightening up and turning around. He ran his fingers through Johnny’s hair with a grin.

“Down, boy,” Yoonoh said. “I thought I was going to have to convince you.”

“No,” Johnny said. “I want to do everything.”

He wasn’t going to miss out on his chance.

When they got out and dried off, Johnny was shaking, partly from the temperature change and partly from nerves and anticipation. But he felt ready. They walked over to the bed, naked. Yoonoh pushed the covers back, climbed on top and gestured for Johnny to join him.

“Remember what I said,” Yoonoh said as Johnny joined him on the bed. “Anytime… any reason… if you wanna stop, just tell me.”

Johnny nodded. He wasn't going to want to stop. He scooted back on the bed to rest against the pillows and the headboard. Yoonoh slid over to his lap, straddling him. He put his hands on Johnny’s shoulders.

“I’m gonna take care of you, Johnny,” Yoonoh said, with a seductive grin.

His hand wrapped around Johnny’s cock again.

Johnny closed his eyes.

He couldn’t see his future. He could never see his future. But, right now, he predicted that this was going to be the greatest night of his life. 


	6. Jaehyun

Truthfully, Jaehyun was a bit surprised.

He didn’t think Johnny was _shy_ but he still didn’t expect him to jump into this feet first. Jaehyun had expected to do a little more coaxing. Not convincing exactly but calming Johnny down so he would feel comfortable. Sex was a vulnerable act, even with casual one-night stands. Jaehyun knew this. But he was used to it by now. Johnny wasn’t. He was nervous most about the part of building enough familiarity between the two of them.

But Johnny seemed to trust him already.

Jaehyun was already having more fun than he thought he was going to. Especially since Johnny’s cock was so big. Like huge. Jaehyun could usually deduce what someone was packing pretty well, but he had underestimated this one. Maybe because Johnny was taller than most guys he hooked up with?

Jaehyun wasn’t complaining.

He wrapped his hand around Johnny’s cock and looked him over, Johnny laying back, a bit propped up by the many pillows and panting on the bed. The shower was a good warm up but Jaehyun was ready to get closer to the main event. He gave the base of Johnny’s cock a squeeze, just looking at him. He loved how hard Johnny was. It was so much more fun (and easier) to get fucked with a rock hard dick. Jaehyun was definitely going to ride him

But that was for later.

Now, Jaehyun kept his eyes locked on Johnny’s. He liked how Johnny wasn’t scared to look at him, even though Johnny was breathing hard, obviously very turned on. Lots of the guys Jaehyun hooked up kept their eyes closed the whole time, grabbed his hair and stuffed their cock down his throat, panting greedily the whole time. And yeah, that was fine. Jaehyun liked it rough, too. They were just getting off. But sometimes, Jaehyun liked it when someone looked at him.

Johnny couldn’t seem to tear his eyes away.

It made Jaehyun smile.

“Yoonoh…” Johnny grunted, a sigh through his nose. That made Jaehyun smile, too. What would his grandma think about what he was doing with his government name?

“I’m here,” Jaehyun said. He kept staring into Johnny’s eyes. They were cat-like and bright but filled with wanting. Jaehyun moved his hand up the length of Johnny’s cock and then back down again. He finally broke eye contact to lean down and flick his tongue over the tip of Johnny’s cock.

Johnny moaned.

Jaehyun smiled to himself. Johnny’s size. This was going to be a challenge.

He decided to take it slow.

He touched his tongue to Johnny’s cock again, tasting his pre-come. Johnny was leaking a lot, his cock pulsing like it was possible for him to get harder. Jaehyun hoped that Johnny had some blood elsewhere in his body because it all seemed to be here. He chuckled to himself and traced the tip of his tongue along the hard ridge around the head of Johnny’s cock.

Johnny made a strangled moaning nose and gripped the edge of the bed. Jaehyun almost laughed. He’d barely done anything.

“Oh shit—” Johnny choked out.

Jaehyun nuzzled the head of Johnny’s cock with his nose and looked up at him with a grin.

“You okay?” He teased.

Johnny met his eyes again and laughed a little.

Jaehyun kissed the side of Johnny’s cock, keeping his eyes on Johnny again. He was holding Johnny’s cock upright, otherwise it would have been slapped against the other’s flat belly. He liked the way Johnny was quivering in his hand.

He kissed his way down Johnny’s cock, open mouth kisses, pressing his lips against Johnny with a heated groan. Then he pressed his tongue against him hard and began to lick his way back up as Johnny whimpered.

“That’s it,” Jaehyun murmured. He continued licking, all around Johnny’s cock, lapping him up like he was the sweetest dessert. It was hot hearing the way Johnny moaned and responded to his every touch. All of those sounds were going straight to his cock. Jaehyun had to take a moment to give himself a squeeze between his legs.

Jaehyun took a deep breath, letting Johnny go so he could press his hands against Johnny’s thighs, clawing them a bit. He watched Johnny as his cock slapped back to his belly. It was a satisfying sound.

“You alright?” Johnny asked, panting but it seemed like he truly cared.

“Just thinking about how I’m gonna handle you…” Jaehyun murmured. He leaned over and started kissing over Johnny’s thighs. He was hairy and Jaehyun scrubbed his tongue through his coarse hair. He kissed along the inside of Johnny’s thighs, each one in turn. He nipped him there, then bit down harder, feeling Johnny gasp and moan underneath him.

“Have you ever…” Jaehyun murmured. He stuck his finger in his mouth and then rubbed his slicked up finger across the base of Johnny’s balls. Johnny jumped and gasped, swearing under his breath. Jaehyun moved his finger down, pressing at the smooth skin just underneath Johnny’s balls.

“Whoa!” Johnny cried, sitting up. Jaehyun sat back on his knees.

“Sorry,” he said, quickly. “I should have warned you more. Have you ever touched your taint?”

Johnny shook his head, eyes wide. Jaehyun rubbed over Johnny’s thighs and smiled at him, giving Johnny’s thighs a squeeze.

“It’s fun…” Jaehyun leaned in to give Johnny a kiss. “Maybe… We’ll try more later…”

He turned his attention back to Johnny’s cock, grabbing it again and leaning down. This time he slurped the head of Johnny’s cock right into his mouth. Johnny gasped again, but in a more relaxed way. He laid back with a groan as Jaehyun sucked hard.

“Mmmm…” Jaehyun moaned lewdly around Johnny’s cock. “You’re so big.”

He dove right in, sucking Johnny’s cock into his mouth, lips sealing around him hard as his mouth traveled long. He slid his mouth back up, coming off Johnny with a pop. Each sound seemed to make Johnny groan harder, so Jaehyun made sure to be extra noisy. Slurping and sucking and smacking and groaning. He started off a bit sloppy, lots of tongue, lots of spit, moving his mouth up and down Johnny’s cock, taking him about hallway. His hand worked the rest of Johnny’s cock, twisting his hand at the base of Johnny’s cock and stroking him up and down.

He could feel Johnny’s hips shaking. He knew he could make him come just like this. But Jaehyun wanted to do more. He’d just been working himself up to it.

Jaehyun pulled off Johnny’s cock with another lewd pop and took a deep breath.

He flinched a bit when Johnny reached for his hair, expecting Johnny to push his head down he was taking a break. But Johnny ran his fingers through Jaehyun’s hair, gently.

“Mmmm…” Johnny moaned.

Jaehyun smiled to himself before doing a few jaw stretches.

Then he decided to go for it.

“Okay, Johnny…” Jaehyun murmured, getting up on his knees more, positioning himself better in front of Johnny’s cock. He saw Johnny watching him curiously.

Jaehyun took a deep breath.

He wrapped his lips around Johnny’s cock and slowly slid his mouth all the way down.

And he meant all the way down. With Johnny’s massive cock, he had a long way to go. Once he was more than halfway, Johnny seemed to get the idea, gasping loudly. Jaehyun had to concentrate as Johnny, salty and pulsating, filled his mouth and the tip of his cock grew closer to his throat. Jaehyun focused on relaxing his throat muscles, as he took the last of Johnny in his mouth, bit by bit.

He’d never deepthroated someone this large before.

He fought his natural instincts, breathing through his nose to stay relaxed. His gag reflex wanted to activate but he told himself mind over matter.

Johnny’s dick was nearly choking him.

Jaehyun loved it.

He managed to take all of him, his nose buried in Johnny’s pubes, breathing him in. He let Johnny rest there for a moment, his throat jumping a little as Johnny’s throbbed in his mouth.

“Wh-whoa—” Johnny choked out.

Jaehyun pulled off his cock slowly, sucking hard until he came off and sucked in a breath. He was sweating a little bit he felt good.

Jaehyun swallowed hard and wiped his mouth. He could still feel the hint of Johnny against his throat.

“Oh my God…” Jaehyun pressed his hand against the side of his jaw.

“Are you okay?” Johnny asked, sitting up a bit to touch the other side of Jaehyun’s face as well. Jaehyun had to laugh at Johnny’s genuine concern.

“Yes, I am,” Jaehyun said, patting Johnny’s hand. “Are you okay, Johnny? Did you like it?” He smirked at Johnny, massaging the back of his hand a bit.

“Yeah.”

“Are you ready to come, Johnny?” Jaehyun raised his eyebrow.

Johnny’s eyes went wide again, and he nodded.

Jaehyun chuckled and dug his nails against Johnny’s thighs. Then he grabbed Johnny and went down again.

The second time was easier. He slid his mouth down Johnny’s cock to the hilt and slid up again before finding a slurpy rhythm, deepthroating Johnny like he’d never done to anyone before. He breathed steading though his nose, felt Johnny’s wetness and his own spit dripping down his chin. Johnny was writhing and moaning, a mess underneath him, Johnny’s knee coming up hitting his back at points. It was hot.

Jaehyun pulled off, licking over his lips and taking a deep breath. “Come down my throat,” he growled at Johnny, before sliding his mouth down again.

Johnny gave a little squeak.

Jaehyun gave Johnny’s balls a small squeeze to help him along.

Johnny’s hips jumped. The tip of his cock bashed against the back of Jaehyun’s throat and he lost it for a second, pulling off of Johnny’s cock, gagging and coughing.

“Oh God—” Johnny said, sitting up again, but Jaehyun pushed him back down. He grabbed Johnny’s hips to keep him more under control.

“It’s okay,” Jaehyun said quickly, before swallowing Johnny down again, though not deepthroating him now. He proved his point, he could do it. Now, he focused on getting Johnny off. He dug his fingernails into Johnny’s hips, bobbing his head up and down, back and forth. His lips were slick with his spit and Johnny’s pre-come, so it was easy. He sucked on the head of Johnny’s cock. He could feel the telltale heaviness and grabbed the bottom of Johnny’s cock, giving him a few quick strokes.

“Ah!” Johnny yelped. “Oh-okay!”

Jaehyun sucked on Johnny one more time and then he felt it. Johnny’s body sputtering, Johnny crying out and then Johnny was shooting down his throat. He slid his lips down a little further on Johnny’s cock, taking it all in, sucking hard to help his orgasm along. He let Johnny’s warm come fill his mouth and then he pulled off, swallowing as a little of it dribbled out of the corners of his mouth. He kept stroking Johnny through the end of his orgasm, swallowing a few times.

Johnny was a writhing mess on the bed.

Jaehyun liked seeing him like that.

He licked over his lips, chuckling to himself. Jaehyun carefully grabbed Johnny’s softening dick and licked it all over, cleaning him up. When he glanced up, Johnny was watching him with wide eyes.

“You don’t have to do that,” Johnny said. Jaehyun sat back on his haunches with a laugh.

“I like it,” he said, grinning. “You wanna try? Can I kiss you?” Some guys were weird about this. Weird about kissing in general. But Johnny nodded and Jaehyun leaned into him, giving him a little kiss.

“Guess what…?” Jaehyun pressed his forehead against Johnny’s. They were both breathing hard.

“Wh-what?” Johnny panted out.

Jaehyun pinched Johnny’s side playfully. “You’re not a virgin anymore,” he teased. Johnny burst out laughing. Jaehyun leaned away, laughing himself.

Jaehyun usually didn’t joke around with his hook ups like this. He was a fuck and go type of person. But from the beginning, something about Johnny. Jaehyun couldn’t put his finger on it. But he found himself wanting to spend time with Johnny.

Yoonoh wanted to spend some time with him.

“You still wanna…?” Johnny asked, brushing sweaty hair away from his forehead.

“Of course.” Jaehyun got up and waddled over to his toiletry bag in the corner with his hard on. He’d rub one out real quick before they got started. He grabbed his lube and a condom, before coming back over to the bed.

“Wanna wear it?” Jaehyun asked. “It’s up to you.”

He handed the condom to Johnny, who looked slightly confused. Jaehyun climbed back on the bed again.

“I heard in America they put condoms on bananas,” Jaehyun said. Johnny laughed a little.

“I’m clean,” Jaehyun added. “Promise.”

Johnny put the condom on the nightstand. “I’ll think about it. But—” Johnny stopped, taking a breath. “Um… I was talking about if you wanted me to…” Johnny pointed at Jaehyun’s boner. Jaehyun looked down at himself with a laugh.

“You don’t—”

“I want to,” Johnny said, quickly. ”But… uh… what you said earlier.”

It took Jaehyun a second to remember. He smiled slowly. “You want to eat me out?”

Johnny nodded.

How could Jaehyun say no to that?

“Okay.” Jaehyun chuckled, not at Johnny, just at… everything. He didn’t know. Johnny was cute.

Then Johnny pushed him back on the bed.

Jaehyun wasn’t expecting it. He blinked up at the taller man as Johnny leaned down to kiss him. Johnny kissed him hard. Hard enough to take Jaehyun’s breath away. And while he was still struggling to breathe, Johnny started kissing his jaw, his neck, over his Adam’s apple, his throat. He felt the scratch of Johnny’s slight stubble over his chest as Johnny took Jaehyun’s nipple into his mouth.

Jaehyun gasped in surprise.

Johnny kissed over his chest, nipping him in different places, down to his stomach. He sucked on Jaehyun’s abs with a growl.

Jaehyun chuckled, running his fingers though Johnny’s hair affectionately, then pulling just a bit.

Johnny pushed Jaehyun’s knees back and grabbed his cock, giving Jaehyun a squeeze and a jerk. Jaehyun groaned, drawing his legs up tighter.

“It’s right…” Jaehyun slid his hand between his legs, wiggling his finger between his cheeks, touching his own pink bud. “There.”

Johnny grabbed his cheeks and gave them a squeeze. Jaehyun groaned. Then Johnny bit his right ass cheek. Jaehyun groaned louder. Johnny liked biting. He moaned when Johnny stopped biting and started kissing his ass all over with those soft, sexy lips. Jaehyun grabbed his cock, stroking himself lazily as Johnny began kissing and licking his way between, until he felt Johnny’s tongue the rim of his hole.

“Fuck…” Jaehyun breathed out, squeezing him harder.

“Is it okay?” Johnny asked, his voice muffled.

“Yes!” Jaehyun cried out. “Just… more. Try… uh—” He ran out of words because now Johnny was tracing the tip of his tongue around the rim of Jaehyun’s hole. Jaehyun’s breath hitched as Johnny ran his tongue across it in one, warm, flat stroke. He felt the tip of Johnny’s tounge breach his hole as he shivered with a short gasp. He used his free hand to grab Johnny’s arm. He dug his fingernails against the back of Johnny’s arm, encouraging him to go on.

Johnny kissed him there, sucked on the delicate skin around his hole just a little bit. He felt Johnny’s tongue sweeping over his hole, around his hole and slowly trying to work his way inside. Jaehyun sighed out with each delicious stroke, his body softening and relaxing under Johnny’s mouth. He was more skilled than Jaehyun was expecting. The most surprising part was that Johnny wasn’t afraid. He really did lick Jaehyun’s asshole like he’d been waiting a lifetime.

Jaehyun loved it.

Jaehyun lifted his legs and draped them over Johnny’s shoulders, bringing Johnny closer. Johnny held onto his hips, the sides of ass, changing angles a little as he continued to work Jaehyun open with his tongue, getting a little deeper. Jaehyun sighed and moaned, stroking himself faster, his cock leaking steadily. He couldn’t believe Johnny was getting him so close.

Johnny was finally able to wiggle his tongue inside and Jaehyun jumped a little, his breath hitching. Johnny pulled away, taking a breath.

“Is it—” Johnny started, but Jaehyun broke in.

“Yes, yes, it’s okay,” he answered, knowing what Johnny was going to say. “Oh… it’s amazing, Johnny. Here…” He tossed the lube down the bed toward Johnny. “Put some on your finger and try to stick your finger in. Use a lot of it.”

Jaehyun planned on prepping himself, but Johnny could get started while he was finishing himself off. He heard Johnny uncap the bottle. Jaehyun began stroking himself faster, feeling the slight chill from the dampness of Johnny’s tongue on his hole. He sucked his breath when he felt Johnny touch his hole with a wet finger. He laughed a little as the way Johnny was groping around, trying to wiggle his finger in like a little worm.

“Oh…” Jaehyun breathed out, bringing his legs down. “Just try… pushing, Johnny…”

“I don’t wanna hurt you.”

“You won’t.” Not too bad at least. Johnny had short fingernails, anyway. He’d already checked them out. Jaehyun took a deep breath, feeling himself getting closer as he jerked himself off, quickly. Now Johnny was touching him with the pad of his finger, stroking and pushing slightly, and it felt a little nicer.

“Yes…” Jaehyun breathed, his stomach contracting. He was right on the edge. He swallowed hard.

“Yoonoh…” Johnny grunted, still playing with Jaehyun’s hole.

“Push…” Jaehyun instructed. “Your finger in… your fingertip…”

Jaehyun gasped as Johnny did what he said. A little deeper and Jaehyun sucked in his breath again. He closed his eyes and pushed his ass back against Johnny’s finger, feeling him slide in a little deeper.

That was the push he needed. Jaehyun gave himself one last jerk and cried out loudly as he came all over his hand and his chest, breathing hard. His eyes were closed tightly as the orgasm rolled through his body. This was the feeling he craved.

When he opened his eyes, Johnny was peering down at him, holding a damp washcloth. Jaehyun chuckled in surprise as Johnny started cleaning him up.

“I don’t think I’ll wear the condom,” Johnny said, smiling at him as he wiped down Jaehyun’s chest. “I trust you.”

Jaehyun smiled, looking into Johnny’s eyes. There was a strange thought in his head.

It was a shame he was never going to see Johnny again.

But, Jaehyun reminded himself, it couldn’t be helped. Johnny lived in America. He lived in Korea. Jaehyun wasn’t allowed to have a relationship outside of one-night stands. It was too messy. He already had too many secrets in his life.

Johnny didn’t even know his name.

Jaehyun shook his head. He didn’t know why he was spending so much time thinking about silly things. Jaehyun grabbed the washcloth out of Johnny’s hand and tossed it aside. Then he pulled Johnny on top of him. He grabbed Johnny’s hand, guiding it between his legs, back to nestle between his ass cheeks once again.

“What me to show you something else?” Jaehyun asked, in a low voice with a smile.

Johnny grinned.


	7. Johnny

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW:  
> \- mention of death (somewhat descriptive)

There was a small voice in the back of Johnny’s mind that told him this could be it.

Every time he touched Yoonoh, there wasn’t a hesitation, but there was the blurred knowledge that this could be the last time. The horrible curse or whatever it was could kick in. Johnny might be overcome with some horrible vision of Yoonoh’s future and then it would be over. It would be the last time that Yoonoh looked at Johnny like he was a person that Yoonoh wanted to be with.

But it hadn’t happened yet and maybe it never would. Now Johnny had a finger inside Yoonoh, knuckle deep, as Yoonoh breathed hard and moaned. Johnny was breathing hard too. Yoonoh felt incredible. His warm, slick hole was deep and damp, pulsing around his finger. Johnny wanted to go in with his tongue again, but he could sense that Yoonoh needed more. He was ready for the real thing and Johnny was ready too.

“I’m good, Johnny,” Yoonoh said, panting. “Another finger… move them in and out.”

Johnny was turned on by Yoonoh’s voice. It was deep and sexy but more than that, Yoonoh was never condescending. He wasn’t impatient. He talked Johnny through everything without any judgement in his voice. It occurred to Johnny that maybe he should have practiced on an apple pie or something prior to this encounter but Johnny honestly thought he’d never have a chance to do this. Now he was learning on the job.

Johnny had always considered himself to be a fast learner.

He slid another finger inside Yoonoh and gave a short gasp. Both fingers fit, but it was still a tight grip. Yoonoh sucked in his breath harshly. Johnny slid his fingers in until he felt like they were at their limit and couldn’t go any deeper. He looked down at Yoonoh, who was nodding encouragingly.

“Yes—” Yoonoh choked out, his hand on his chest. “This… this is so good… in and out…”

Johnny began moving his fingers back up and then down inside Yoonoh’s depths once again. He added lube when he felt a little bit of resistance. The lube helped and soon he was finger fucking Yoonoh at a steady rate. Johnny bit his lip, staring down at Yoonoh’s beautiful face. His eyes were closed so Johnny could notice his eyelashes. He looked so relaxed even though he was breathing so hard. Johnny didn’t think he had seen anything—or anyone—so beautiful.

Johnny leaned down and gave Yoonoh a sweet kiss.

Yoonoh’s eyes opened at first, in surprise, but then he settled in, kissing him back. Johnny kissed Yoonoh harder, sliding his tongue deep in his mouth. Yoonoh groaned against his lips. Their mouths fell into a gentle rhythm, slower than the pace Johnny was using with his fingers. He pumped them in and out, stretching them inside Yoonoh’s hole.

This was how Johnny imagined it happening if he ever let himself have an imagination. Not necessarily with a stranger, but he wanted his first time to be full of feeling. He wanted to kiss his partner. He wanted to desire him. He wanted to make him feel wanted. He wanted to make him feel good. He felt like he was doing that for Yoonoh right now.

At least he hoped so.

Yoonoh moaned against his lips and clawed his fingers down Johnny’s bare back.

“More,” Yoonoh demanded against his lips. Johnny kissed Yoonoh harder, as he went for three fingers. It was tight and he felt Yoonoh stiffen. Johnny had to pause the kissing to add more lube. Yoonoh spread his legs a little further apart, brought his knees up. Johnny tried again. This time his three fingers sunk slowly inside. When he kissed Yoonoh again, Yoonoh was back to being relaxed. Johnny swirled his tongue around Yoonoh’s and sucked on his lower lip lightly. He heard a moan he hadn’t heard before.

He knew this probably didn’t mean much to Yoonoh, even though it was his birthday. In three months, he probably wouldn’t remember Johnny. He had sex all the time. But this might be Johnny’s only chance to experience something like this. When he thought about it, feeling lonely in his bed at night, he thought about how amazing it was that some people took touching for granted. They didn’t think twice about a romantic kiss, a friendly hug, a business handshake or even high-fiving a stranger in the bar. Johnny couldn’t do any of those things. He might never be able to ever in his life. He felt so bitter in those moments.

But right now, Johnny was living on the other side and he wasn’t going to forget it. He tried to commit everything to memory. The velvety ridges of Yoonoh’s hole when his fingers were buried deep inside. The wet rough slide of his tongue over Yoonoh’s. Their lips pressed against each other, damp and filling each other’s empty spaces. Yoonoh’s needy yet gentle hands over his back. Yoonoh’s thighs pressed against him, trembling. The suction and release when Johnny pumped his fingers in and out of Yoonoh. The way Johnny’s cock jerked and leaked up towards his belly, ready but waiting along with Johnny for when Yoonoh gave them the okay.

“Ah-ahhh…” Yoonoh groaned out as Johnny moved his fingers faster. He gently pushed Johnny’s hand away.

“Are you okay?” Johnny asked, immediately. He hoped he hadn’t done something wrong. Yoonoh nodded.

“Just… hold on---”

Johnny kissed the side of Yoonoh’s neck and then sucked him there. Yoonoh gave another deep moan. They panted together for a few moments. Then Yoonoh reached between them. First, he gave Johnny’s cock a quick jerk. Then Johnny felt Yoonoh reach between his own legs.

“I’m just gonna…” Yoonoh breathed out. Johnny pulled back, sitting on his knees as Yoonoh slipped his own fingers in his hole. He watched Yoonoh work himself quickly, roughly, blinking with a slight wince when Yoonoh used four fingers. He was impressed and getting a bit more nervous. Yoonoh bit his lower lip, working his fingers inside of himself. Johnny squeezed his cock because watching Yoonoh do this was enough to make him want to come. But it wasn’t time yet.

“Fuck—” Yoonoh pulled his fingers out and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly.

“Did I?” Johnny asked, questioningly. “Um… do you need--?”

Yoonoh cut him off with a laugh. “No, you didn’t do anything wrong, Johnny. I just wanted to make sure I’m good. Like I said, you’re big.” Yoonoh met Johnny’s eyes with an encouraging smile. Johnny smiled back, but his nerves were kicking in more than he thought they would. Especially since he’d been feeling so relaxed and in control just a moment before.

Yoonoh sat up and stared into his eyes. “I’m ready for you,” he said, in a low voice. “It’s just… natural. You’ll see.” He reached for Johnny’s face, pulling him into a kiss. This kiss was different than the others. It was hot but it was also comforting. There was something below the surface as their lips moved together, just as heatedly as they had been all night.

Yoonoh trusted him.

Yoonoh pulled back from the kiss with a smack and smiled. Then he flopped back on the bed and gave Johnny a look that made Johnny swallow hard.

There was only one thing Johnny could interpret from that look.

Yoonoh wanted Johnny to fuck him so bad.

Johnny reached for Yoonoh and ran his hands up his bare arms.

He still didn’t see anything. No visions.

The only future he saw was what was right in front of him. Yoonoh lifted his legs and wrapped them around Johnny as Johnny moved over him once again. Johnny positioned himself and took a deep breath. He met Yoonoh’s eyes when Yoonoh reached between them to grab Johnny’s cock again, this time guiding Johnny to his hole.

The tip of Johnny’s cock pressed against Yoonoh’s entrance. Yoonoh nodded again, keeping Johnny steady there. Johnny closed his eyes, his body and his instincts taking over. It was tight as the head of Johnny’s cock breeched Yoonoh’s hole.

“Yes, Johnny…” Yoonoh breathed. He gave the base of Johnny’s cock a squeeze. “Yes…”

Johnny sucked in his breath. It already felt incredible.

“Keep going,” Yoonoh reminded him.

Johnny pushed again, feeling himself slip inside further. But it was tight. Was he really going to make it? They’d used a lot of lube but maybe they should use more.

“Are you—” Johnny stuttered.

“It’s good, it’s good,” Yoonoh reassured him, quickly. “You’re doing great. I like it, Johnny. Keep going… I want you deeper.”

Johnny closed his eyes for a moment. He didn’t know how he was going to last. His cock was already trembling hard and he could feel his balls drawing up closer to his body. Maybe he wasn’t made for this. But he wanted to last more than one second, so Johnny demanded his body calm down.

He pushed and felt the resistance. But Yoonoh was still nodding and moaning and muttering for more. Johnny pushed harder and then he felt how it was supposed to be. He slipped deep inside. His cock was buried in Yoonoh and he could feel his walls trembling around him. Johnny let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding.

“Breathe,” Yoonoh told him, with a smile. “How does it feel?”

Johnny nodded. He didn’t think he had words. Incredible wasn’t the word. Amazing wasn’t either. They were so close. Johnny had never been this intimate with anyone before. He wanted to scream like a horny monster. He wanted to burst into tears in relief. He wanted to cry out that this was the first time he’d ever felt truly normal in his life. He wanted to tell Yoonoh thank you over and over again. None of that would be appropriate but all of that together would come close to how Johnny was feeling.

He let his body drop on top of Yoonoh’s. He pressed his face against Yoonoh’s shoulder. He gasped when he felt Yoonoh’s hips shift and he slid further inside.

“You feel so good,” Yoonoh whispered. “Just… just like this…”

Johnny’s hips quivered. He was aching to move. Every muscle in his body was screaming for him to chase that pleasure, chase that friction, start thrusting in and out. But Johnny was listening to Yoonoh’s breathing and he knew that he needed a minute.

He kissed Yoonoh’s shoulder, gently.

“You’re beautiful,” Johnny told him.

Yoonoh ran his hand over Johnny’s hair and down his back.

“You’re so big,” Yoonoh said. Johnny looked up at him. Yoonoh pressed a finger against Johnny’s lips before Johnny could say anything.

“I like it rough,” Yoonoh said, staring deep into Johnny’s eyes. “Use me. I want to feel it.”

Johnny didn’t say anything for a moment. He had to make sure this was real. But nothing changed. The future didn’t interrupt him. The future was here.

Yoonoh wanted Johnny to fuck him hard.

And Johnny’s whole body, his whole being, was ready to oblige.

Yoonoh reached for Johnny’s ass. He gave a squeeze, digging his fingernails into his flesh. Yoonoh nodded.

Johnny pulled his hips back. He moaned deeply, the sound coming out before he fully realized what he was doing. Yoonoh felt so _good_. He’d been jerked off and he loved the blow job, but nothing compared to this. The tight grip of Yoonoh’s velvety walls squeezing around him. The friction from the ridges and the squeeze. Johnny’s heart threatened to beat out of his chest.

He thrust his way inside again.

He gasped, sliding back in so deep. Yoonoh moved with him, pushing his ass back against him, meeting him with a groan. It seemed impossible that Johnny could fit, that he could go so deep inside, but he did. When the head of his cock hit the back of Yoonoh’s walls, it sent a shockwave of pleasure through him. Johnny gasped as Yoonoh groaned.

“Fuuuuuck,” Yoonoh breathed out. “That’s it… keep going… harder…”

Johnny didn’t think it was possible for his heart to beat any faster, but it was. He knew he needed all the blood in his body to flow to his cock. He had never been this hard before. And he’d never worked this hard before. Despite working out in the gym on the regular, he was sweating so much that a drop rolled down the side of his face. He thrust himself inside Yoonoh again, hard enough to make Yoonoh jump. Yoonoh cried out and nodded, a small smile on his face. Johnny loved the way that Yoonoh gripped him and stared into his eyes. It was so intense. Maybe that was why his heart had gone into overdrive. He’d never felt like this before.

Soon, Johnny found a rhythm that had him slamming into Yoonoh at a rate that made Yoonoh cry out over and over again. Each sound caused a jolt through his whole body. Each grunt of pleasure that fell from Yoonoh’s lips caused Johnny to get even more excited. How was it possible to be so close to a person? How was it possible that they could fit like this? But they did and it kept happening, again and again and again—

Yoonoh arched his hips up higher, gripping Johnny tightly with his legs as Johnny slammed into him once more. Yoonoh gasped the loudest he had that night. His eyes were still burning into Johnny’s. Yoonoh nodded, his face red, sweat dotting his forehead.

“Right there, Johnny—” Yoonoh choked out. Johnny thrust against and heard the same gasp. Yoonoh’s whole body shuddered from pleasure.

“Yes…” Yoonoh whispered. Johnny kissed him hard. He couldn’t help it. Kissing was the next best thing to fucking Yoonoh’s brains out. Yoonoh kissed him back, sloppily, messily, desperately.

They were panting and groaning against each other’s lips between kisses. Johnny kept thrusting his cock hard into Yoonoh, brushing over the same spot that made Yoonoh jerk. It was so much. Johnny felt dizzy with pleasure. He knew he wasn’t going to last much longer.

Yoonoh rocked with him and after a few moments, Johnny noticed Yoonoh’s hand flying up and down his cock, jerking himself off. He’d been so caught up in fucking that he’d been neglecting that part of it. Johnny tried to take over but Yoonoh shook his head.

“Keep going, Johnny,” Yoonoh said and then gasped again when Johnny felt the head of his cock hit the back of Yoonoh’s walls.

Johnny’s hips were trembling. He wanted to hold out, but it was becoming harder and harder. His whole body was begging for him to give in to his release. Yoonoh kissed him again and bit down hard on his lower lip. Johnny wanted to come but at the same time, he didn’t want this to be over. He moaned painfully into Yoonoh’s mouth.

“Come on, Johnny,” Yoonoh whispered, with their mouths still pressed together. “Fill me up—”

Johnny clutched Yoonoh tight against him, as hard as could. He thrust one more time, but he couldn’t take it anymore. His whole body jerked and shook over Yoonoh, dripping sweat on him. He yelled out feeling his orgasm overtake him. He started to come, feeling his cock pumping into Yoonoh, filling him up quickly. He moved to pull away because it was so much but Yoonoh grabbed his ass to hold him there. Johnny could feel his come pouring out of Yoonoh’s ass, pooling underneath them. He collapsed over Yoonoh, unable to control himself anymore as his body was rocked by wave after wave of intense pleasure.

Yoonoh was still moving his hand up and down his own cock the best that he could. Then Johnny heard him swear loudly and felt his come start to coat both of them. Johnny kissed Yoonoh hard once again, holding him close as he felt Yoonoh’s orgasm roll through his body. And even after it was over, he didn’t pull away. He didn’t even pull out of Yoonoh, despite his cock slowly starting to soften and slipping a bit. They stayed closed together, holding each other.

Johnny’s whole body was shaking.

He couldn’t believe that had actually happened.

And now it was over.

He wasn’t a virgin anymore. Finally.

But… that might be the last time. Not only the last time he got to have sex but the last time he got to be so close to someone.

And for so long, the one thing he’d wanted most in his life was to be close to someone.

Johnny was still holding Yoonoh close, his face buried against Yoonoh’s shoulder. He didn’t know what was happening to him until it was too late.

He started to cry.

Warm tears ran down his sweaty face. Just like the intensity of his orgasm, he couldn’t help it. He couldn’t stop. He was happy, he was sad, he was scared, he was frustrated. Why couldn’t he have this like everyone else? Why would whoever was pulling the strings up there allow him to experience touch for one beautiful night knowing that he was only going to see something horrible the next time he dared to try again?

“Johnny?” Yoonoh asked softly. Johnny had been trying to be silent, but it was impossible to cry without noise, especially because Johnny was crying pretty hard.

“I’m s-sorry…” Johnny choked out.

Yoonoh ran a hand over his hair. He didn’t say anything else. He just held Johnny tighter.

“It’s okay,” Yoonoh said after a couple more moments of Johnny fighting to control himself and his tears. “You can cry. Sometimes I cry after sex, too.”

Johnny let out a choked sob-laugh noise, half-relieved and half-embarrassed. But he could tell that Yoonoh meant it. Yoonoh stroked his hair and didn’t say anything. They laid there for a long time, even after Johnny’s tears finally dried. They didn’t say anything. They didn’t move. Johnny was still inside of him.

It felt just like what he wanted his first time to be. He hadn’t known that before this moment, but it was perfect. Even with the lame crying.

How was this going to end?

Either way was going to hurt.

Johnny knew the terms and conditions of this perfect night. Yoonoh had to leave soon and Johnny was never going to see him again. He understood it. He’d agreed to it.

That didn’t make this easier.

Johnny didn’t know how much time they had left together. He wondered if he should just leave. But when he moved to finally get up, Yoonoh held him even tighter. His large biceps flexed around Johnny’s body.

“Stay,” Yoonoh whispered.

So, Johnny stayed. He didn’t look at the clock. They fell asleep together for a couple of hours. When they woke up, they were all sticky and crusty and gross, but it made them laugh. They showered again. They drank the rest of the wine. They ended up having sex again, trying a couple of different position. But the part that didn’t change was how much Yoonoh kissed him and looked into his eyes. That was the part that Johnny truly wanted to remember for the rest of his life.

They got dressed after the sun had risen, pouring gentle golden light into the hotel room through the large picture windows.

Johnny zipped up his pants and looked at himself in the large window in the hallway.

He wondered if anyone would be able to tell that he was different.

“My flight is in three hours,” Yoonoh said, breaking the peaceful silence between them as they got dressed. “I’d better get going…”

Johnny noticed how Yoonoh’s phone kept buzzing but Yoonoh kept ignoring it. Someone was probably looking for him.

Johnny nodded. He was sad but his heart was also full.

“Thank you, Johnny,” Yoonoh said. God, that beautiful face of his. Johnny stared at him, taking it all in. Yoonoh’s face was so soft and striking and unforgettable.

“Yoonoh,” Johnny said, before his brain could catch up. “The light… can I take a picture of you? Please.”

Yoonoh looked surprised. He opened his mouth, then closed it.

“Please. Just stand right there. I won’t show anyone.”

Yoonoh hesitated again. Then he nodded, just once.

Johnny pulled his phone from his back pocket. He took a few steps back. He took the picture before Yoonoh could pose or smile or become too self-aware of what was going on. He wanted to remember Yoonoh just like this. His perfect face, slightly messy hair, wearing a casual, comfortable outfit ready for a plane ride and this soft look of affection in his eyes as he glanced at Johnny questioningly but trusting him.

This was how Johnny was going to remember him.

Johnny was so grateful.

He put his phone back in his pocket but Yoonoh said, “Wait.”

Johnny stared at him.

“A picture…” Yoonoh said, slowly. “Us together.”

Johnny hesitated.

“How will I send it to you?” Johnny asked. “You don’t give out your number….”

He saw Yoonoh wince for a second.

“Yes,” Yoonoh said. “But… keep it.”

Johnny nodded. He really didn’t need to be told twice. He moved to stand next to Yoonoh. Their heights were perfect. Johnny had a good angle for the selfie without having to do too much contortion with his arm. The selfie was perfectly lit from the morning sun. Yoonoh smiled and his eyes crinkled at the corners, his dimples digging out two perfect hollows in his cheeks. Johnny couldn’t help grinning too, just from seeing Yoonoh’s face.

He took the picture.

“I’ll never forget this,” Yoonoh said, before Johnny could say the same thing. He blinked at Yoonoh in surprise.

“Me too,” Johnny said.

“Thanks for spending my birthday with me,” Yoonoh said.

“Thank you for spending Valentine’s Day with me,” Johnny said, with a small laugh. “Usually, it really sucks. The only thing I have to look forward to is the half-priced candy the next day.”

“Are you going to get some now?” Yoonoh asked.

Johnny grinned again. “You know, I might skip it this year.”

Johnny grabbed his backpack as they left. They held hands in the elevator. Yoonoh didn’t let go of his hand in the lobby. They had to wait for the hotel staff to bring Yoonoh’s bag down and call him a cab. Johnny suspected that Yoonoh was rich, but there was no reason to ask. He was concentrating on the fact that they were holding hands.

The sky outside was getting brighter and brighter.

The sidewalk and the streets in front of the hotel were getting busier and busier with Chicago morning rush-hour traffic.

Then Yoonoh’s cab was out front and it was time to say goodbye.

Johnny didn’t know what to say. Tears were threatening his eyes again. But he blinked hard and took a deep breath.

He looked down at their joined hands.

Johnny was really going to miss this.

“That’s me,” Yoonoh said.

Johnny nodded. “Goodbye, Yoonoh,” he whispered. “Have a safe trip.”

Yoonoh leaned up and pressed a sweet kiss to Johnny’s lips. Johnny kissed him back with a pang in his chest.

“Goodbye,” Yoonoh said, softly. “Take care of yourself, Johnny Suh.”

Johnny released his hand slowly.

He wanted to say more but everything that came to mind was too dangerous.

Instead, he said nothing. He watched Yoonoh get in the cab. He watched Yoonoh give one last wave. He watched the cab drive off, turn out of the circle drive in front of the hotel and rumble down the one-way street.

He watched Yoonoh until he couldn’t see him anymore.

And then he was gone.

Forever.

Johnny took a shaky breath. He stood there, frozen, for a long time.

His head was empty.

He didn’t know what to think.

His world was normal again but at the same time he’d been changed forever.

“Hey! Don’t scratch—”

Johnny jumped when someone grabbed his wrist and slapped a pair of car keys in his hand.

“—the paint like last time.”

Johnny glanced wildly at the man, then registered he was standing really close to the valet podium outside.

His stomach flipped. He wasn’t wearing his gloves. He jerked his hand away, but it was too late. The car keys clattered to the ground.

“What the fuck?” the man growled. But it was too late. Johnny felt himself being sucked under.

His vision went black.

He saw an old woman with white hair and a terrified expression on her face. She was lying in a hospital bed alone in a cold room with a monitor beeping next to her bed. Then the monitor started beeping urgently as the woman started to choke. Her eyes opened wider. She looked all around desperately but she was still alone. She reached out for someone, but no one was there. She tried to speak but she couldn’t breathe. Her body jerked once and then she collapsed against the pillows. The monitor’s beeping turned from urgent to a steady, high-pitched drone. The woman didn’t move.

“ _Your mother is going to die tonight alone in her hospital room even though you promised her she wouldn’t be alone_ ,” Johnny said, before the world in front of him snapped back into focus. The man stared at him; his mouth dropped open.

“They said she had another week…” the man muttered. Then he glared. “Hey! Who the fuck are you?”

Johnny couldn’t move. This was the worst part. Why did he have to stay here? Why couldn’t he _move_?

“Hey!” The man demanded, stepping up and getting into Johnny’s face. “I said who the _fuck_ are you and why did you say that to me?”

Johnny sucked in his breath as the man stared him down, angrily.

“Excuse me,” a hotel employee called. “Is there a problem here?”

Johnny felt his breath return to his body in a rush. He could move again.

Johnny turned and ran.

He ran through the busy morning crowd on the sidewalk, looking like a crazy person with a backpack on.

He ran until he turned down an empty alley. He stopped in front of a dumpster and ripped his backpack off. He was shaking but he managed to get his backpack open. He found his gloves and slipped them on, even though it wasn’t cold in the morning for once and it was already too late.

Then he started to cry again. This time for a completely different reason. It wasn’t out of release and bliss. He was crying from frustration and sadness and the never-ending cycle of seeing terrible things happening to people over and over again.

How many times could he see someone die?

He didn’t want to see it anymore.

He couldn’t take this.

He tried to remember Yoonoh but it already felt like the happy memories of their perfect night spent together were fading away. He’d let his guard down and now he was in the same place.

Maybe even lower than before.

Johnny glanced up with a sob and wiped his eyes, feeling the roughness of his gloves.

He kept seeing the old woman die over and over again.

Completely scared and completely alone.

“Please help me,” Johnny muttered to no one. He was also completely scared. He was also completely alone.

His phone chirped with a new message.

 **Unknown** : Check your email. We sent your plane ticket. Don’t worry about money, all expenses are covered. We’ll see you soon.

Johnny sniffed, opening his email app. He saw the email right on top.

A plane ticket to Korea.

He didn’t know who this was. He didn’t know what he was getting himself into. But he knew that there was no going back. In three months, he was going to meet whoever this was in Korea. He was more than ready to leave this place. Three months felt like an impossibly long wait.

Whatever was going to happen in Korea couldn’t be any worse than the life he’d currently been living for the past 25 years.

Johnny knew this was his only chance.

His only chance to have a normal life. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is back! And I think it's going to be pretty fun. So please stay tuned. And let me know what you think in the comments below or contact me on Twitter or CC. Thanks for reading!
> 
> You can find me here:  
> [Twitter](https://twitter.com/cherrysodapop14)
> 
> [CC](https://curiouscat.qa/cherrysodakpop14)


	8. Johnny

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW//
> 
> This chapter takes place in May 2020 during the pandemic. Some info may not be 100 percent accurate but I got the basic gist.

Johnny thought it was incredible how fast life could change.

Johnny was a virgin on his 25th birthday.

Five days later he was not.

A month after that, the entire world had changed.

Johnny couldn’t have touched anyone if he tried.

Everything was locked down.

There was no way Johnny could have predicted this.

His parents went from yelling at him because he was fired from his job to being completely relieved. They started working from home. The TV was turned to cable news all the time. They all stayed inside. Johnny didn’t leave the house for almost a month straight as they ordered grocery delivery and tried to buy masks and gloves and Lysol wipes and toilet paper as they constantly went out of stock online. They watched the numbers on the news go up and up. Infection totals. Death totals.

They were in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic.

Johnny spent most of his time in lockdown holed up in his room studying Korean. He decided to become very serious about it. He had the time.

More than ever, he needed to figure out what this ability was.

And how to stop it.

When the world was ready, when everything was open, he wanted to touch someone again.

Now that he really knew what it was like, it was all he really wanted.

One night—one amazing, unforgettable, mind-blowing night—with the hottest (and sweetest) guy Johnny had ever met wasn’t enough.

But for now, it would have to be.

Johnny thought about Yoonoh every day. He looked at his picture to make sure he could remember his face. He remembered when they first met at the restaurant and Yoonoh said hi in Korean and then that he spoke English.

He remembered Yoonoh’s devastating smile. Those dimples. God, Yoonoh’s whole face.

The way he stared into Johnny’s eyes and was never afraid.

The way their bodies fit together. The way Yoonoh kissed him. They way Yoonoh wanted him.

Reliving the sex with Yoonoh was the only way that Johnny could get off now. He even typed out the whole encounter in a Google Doc just to make sure he’d never forget a single detail.

It was twenty pages. Johnny had never written anything that long in his life.

He didn’t know what he would say if he ever saw Yoonoh again. But he knew what he would do. The very first thing.

Touch him. It would be the only time he wasn’t afraid to do so.

The whole world was afraid to touch each other right now.

Welcome to my life, Johnny thought.

*

Johnny yawned widely after he finished his latest Korean class. He’d found a course online that met for four hours a day, studying advanced Korean. Johnny’s goal was to be conversational by the time he got to Seoul. He was close after buckling down for the past three months. During the day, he studied with his class and poured over his textbooks. At night, he joined Korean language virtual meet up groups and video chat apps to practice speaking with a native speaker.

Johnny had to admit that he looked for him every time. He scrolled through all the usernames, hoping. He held his breath whenever he entered a chat.

Johnny never saw Yoonoh.

Johnny searched the news every day. Countries were closing their borders all over the world. Americans were stuck. Flights were constantly canceled. He checked Korea’s visitor policy constantly.

They were accepting foreigners, but they needed a negative COVID test and had to quarantine for 14 days.

Johnny paid $250 for a rapid PCR test two days before he was supposed to leave. Negative.

The day before, he got another anonymous message in his email.

_This is the address you should use for your quarantine location. Someone will pick you up. Safe travels._

Johnny read the email over and over. He googled the address. He tried to use street view in Google Maps. He searched for any kind of information.

But he couldn’t find anything. Was this even real?

Johnny wasn’t sure. But he had a plane ticket. So, he was going to go.

Johnny had to tell his parents.

“No way,” Johnny’s dad said over dinner that night. Johnny’s last night in America. “What are you thinking, John?”

“You always told me I should study in Korea,” Johnny said. “I’ve been working really hard. I’m ready.”

“No, not like this,” his dad said. “What program? What school? Where are you going? Who’s paying for this? We are in the middle of a pandemic and you want to move across the world?”

Johnny took a deep breath. He’d prepared a whole cover story, but he hoped his dad wouldn’t ask too many details.

“Korea is handling the pandemic much better than us, Dad,” Johnny reminded him. He smiled reassuringly at his mother. “I’ll be safe. I promise.”

“What are you studying exactly, Johnny?” his mom asked.

“It’s a grad program focused on marketing for overseas business at Yonsei university,” Johnny lied. “With a focus on Asian territories. But I’m only auditing to see if I like it.”

Johnny had no idea how long he’d be in Korea. A month? A year? Besides the plane ticket and the address, he had no other details. He tried not to think about that part very much.

“If you’re only auditing it, why are they paying for you come to Korea?” Johnny’s dad pressed. “They don’t know if you’ll make a commitment.”

“It’s a new program so they’re really trying to court American applicants,” Johnny said. “I guess they really want me.”

“John, if it’s a good program, you should commit,” Johnny’s mom said.

“I want to see, Mom,” Johnny said. “I need to make sure I’m really interested.”

“John, you need to figure out what you’re doing with the rest of your life, that’s what you need to do,” Johnny’s dad said. Johnny had to physically refrain himself from rolling his eyes. He gritted his teeth as his dad looked at his mom.

“It’ll be good for him to go over there by himself,” Johnny’s dad said. “Force him to grow up a bit. And we’ll have the family check on him.”

“Honey, what about your…?” His mom’s eyes drifted towards Johnny’s hands. Johnny laid his chopsticks across his plate.

“I’ll be careful,” he said, softly. “I promise, Mom. It won’t be a problem.”

He watched his parents exchange a look.

“I’m leaving tomorrow,” Johnny said.

“You could have told us sooner, John,” his dad said.

Johnny met his dad’s eyes, holding them steady in his gaze for a moment. The last time they hugged was when his dad dropped him off for college. It was a tight, long, goodbye hug. Afterward, Johnny was hit with a vision, one of the first truly terrible ones. He told his dad exactly how his sister was going to die.

He’d never seen his dad cry before.

His aunt was killed by a drunk driver the next day.

Johnny’s dad never hugged him again.

Maybe a stupid pandemic had made this whole thing a little more bearable, but Johnny didn’t want to live this life anymore.

He had no choice. He had to go.

“Like you said,” Johnny said, taking a deep breath. “It’s time for me to grow up.”

*

Incheon airport was a ghost town. Johnny walked off the empty plane into an emptier airport terminal. He was wearing his N95 mask, gloves, a hoodie and jeans, with his backpack slung over his shoulders. Perfectly protected.

No one gave him a funny look. No one said a word. The flight attendants looked grateful.

The only people he saw were immigration agents and then the quarantine health officials, dressed head-to-toe in hazmat suits. They made him pull his mask down and gave him COVID test. They watched him download the quarantine app. Johnny filled out the quarantine paperwork, writing down his new Korean address from memory. They told him to report immediately to his quarantine address. They would be checking on him via his app location in two hours.

Johnny nodded and left.

Johnny’s suitcase was the only one rattling around the baggage claim. Johnny grabbed it and looked around. The airport looked like it was once a huge bustling place. But right now, all the restaurants and stores were boarded up. There was one lone person behind an information desk and a couple of airport employees wandering around.

Johnny didn’t see anyone waiting for him.

Now would be a really good time to see the future.

Johnny waited. Nothing happened. No one appeared.

Johnny rolled his suitcase behind him and kept his passport clutched in his other hand as his backpack bounced against his back. He wandered out the first door he saw and looked around. There wasn’t a car in sight.

Johnny stood outside of the airport for several minutes, not sure what to do. Someone was supposed to come but no one was there.

Maybe he’d made a huge mistake.

“Johnny!” someone yelled.

Johnny turned around.

He saw two guys walking toward him. One of them gave an enthusiastic wave, like they were old pals.

Johnny stared, taking them in.

Two guys?

Two kids.

They looked young.

Seriously, what had Johnny gotten himself into?

“Hi!” the dark haired one chirped when they got close enough. Johnny took a step back. He was not shaking hands, even though he was wearing gloves.

“I speak English!” the dark haired young guy continued. “I’m from Canada!”

“I speak English, too. I’m good,” the other guy said. He had light brown hair and much more of a Korean accent while speaking English than the Canadian, who pretty much sounded Canadian. They were both around the same height, much shorter than Johnny.

“I speak Korean…” Johnny said, slowly, staring them both down.

“Taeyong hyung said that,” the brown haired one said.

“Well, jet lag might make it hard,” the dark haired one said.

“He knows everything. You don’t have to think so much.”

Johnny frowned, looking between the two of them. Did they forget he was here?

“Who’s Taeyong?” Johnny asked.

The two young guys stopped bickering and looked at him again.

“Oh,” the dark-haired one said with a laugh. “I’m Mark.”

“I’m Haechan,” the other one said. “Hello.”

They all looked at each other. Johnny wished he could see their full faces. Mark and Haechan were wearing N95 masks too and they were all standing apart. How could Johnny really judge them if he couldn’t see their whole face?

Mark’s eyes looked so large and innocent. Haechan’s eyes were more skeptical. Johnny wondered how he looked to them.

“What is this?” Johnny asked. “Who are you guys?”

Mark and Haechan exchanged a look.

“This part never gets easier,” Haechan said, sounding weary. Johnny frowned at them.

“It’s easier if we don’t explain it,” Mark said. He turned to Johnny, quickly. “I mean, it’s easier if someone else explains it. Someone better than us.”

Haechan nudged Mark’s arm and nodded. “Show him,” he said.

Mark shook his head. “No.”

“Do it.”

“You know I’m not good doing it under pressure,” Mark hissed.

“Uh, that’s the point. You need to practice. Do the passport he’s holding.”

“I don’t know…”

“Mark! Just show him!”

“What are you guys talking about?” Johnny finally broke in. He thought they might bicker forever. Were they brothers?

“If Mark does this, you’ll understand why you’re here,” Haechan said, crossing his arms across his chest. He gave Mark a look.

Johnny watched Mark take a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Fine,” he said, still sounding hesitant.

Haechan tapped his foot and shook his head. “You can’t be shy anymore. Do it.”

Johnny still had no idea what they meant. Do what to his passport? The way they were talking about this sounded vaguely sexual and it was starting to gross Johnny out. He stood there, clutching his passport. He needed to be at the address in two hours and time was moving fast. Should he continue talking to these kids or figure out when he was going to talk to some real adults about what the hell he was doing in Korea?

“Okay,” Mark said. Johnny watched Mark take another deep breath.

Mark narrowed his eyes.

Haechan clasped his hands together and raised his eyebrows.

Johnny tried to determine if he needed to fight or run.

Johnny felt a tug in his hand. He looked down at his passport. It felt like someone was trying to snatch it away from him, but no one was there. Mark and Haechan were still at least six feet away. It honestly felt like he was in a tug of war over his passport with a ghost. Johnny could feel a force pulling on his passport. Johnny grunted and clutched his passport tighter. What the hell was going on?

“Come on, Mark, take control!” Haechan said.

Johnny felt the passport slipping out of his grasp. He tried to hold it tighter, but the pull was too strong. He was forced to let go. The passport was snatched out of his hands like it was yanked by an invisible rope.

The passport ended up in Mark’s hand.

Mark was breathing hard. He was sweating.

But he hadn’t moved.

Haechan rolled his eyes. “Yeah, he needs a lot more work but… that’s the basic idea.”

“Johnny was holding on so tight,” Mark panted.

Johnny looked at his empty hand. Then he looked at his passport. Somehow his passport went from his hand to Mark’s hand and now Mark was breathing like he just ran fifty laps.

“What happened?” Johnny asked, in a low voice.

“It’s called telekinesis,” Haechan said. “Mark’s bad at it but… that’s why he’s here. Psychic abilities, Johnny hyung. Welcome to the club.”

Johnny stared while Mark looked sheepish.

Telekinesis?

Mark wiped his face and took a deep breath. “Everyone else is much better than me.” He stepped forward and handed Johnny his passport back. “Sorry about that.”

“Everyone else?” Johnny repeated.

“You’ll meet them when we get to the house,” Haechan said.

“Should we leave?” Mark checked his watch. “The Metro schedule is limited.”

“Wait.” Haechan held up his hand. “You showed Johnny what you can do. I wanna see what Johnny can do.”

“What?” Johnny said, with a glare. He was still trying to process what just happened. They told him that Mark could move objects with his mind. His passport ended up in Mark’s possession without Mark touching it. Did that mean Mark grabbed Johnny’s passport through the power of his mind?

“What’s going to happen to me? I wanna know.” Haechan interrupted Johnny’s thoughts. He moved towards Johnny and made like he was going to grab Johnny’s hand. Johnny was still wearing his gloves, but he jumped back anyway.

“What are you doing?” he said, in a low warning voice. “Don’t touch me.”

“We know what you can do,” Haechan said. “Tell the future just by touching someone? Show us!”

This was the first time Johnny had heard someone talk about his ability who was outside of his family circle. He had no idea how Haechan knew but that wasn’t the part that pissed him off. It was the flippant way Haechan talked about it. Like this curse was just a party trick. It was something Johnny did to amuse people and pass the time. This kid had no idea what he was talking about. No idea about the pain Johnny’s ability caused. The trauma it inflicted on Johnny and almost everyone who got caught up in his path. The thought enraged him.

“You think this a joke?” Johnny spat out.

“I don’t think it’s a joke, I just wanna see.” Haechan held out his hand like he was asking for a handshake. “Touch me.”

“Maybe you should stop,” Mark said.

“Are you ready to hear that you’re going to die in the next week?” Johnny spat out. His heart was racing. He was practically shaking. He couldn’t believe this kid.

“Yeah,” Haechan said. “Then I’ll make sure to finish my bucket list.”

Johnny scoffed. He stepped closer to Haechan now and leaned down, staring into his eyes. He was breathing hard under his mask. It felt suffocating. He was speaking in a low voice, but he knew that Haechan could hear him.

“How about your mom? Your family? Someone close to you? Someone you love more than anything? Do you want to know how they die or some horrible thing that’s going to happen to them in the very near future? Because that’s what I’m going to tell you if I touch you. And I have to see it, too. I don’t think it’s _funny_ ,” Johnny said, his face flushed from anger. “It’s not something I just do. So, I suggest you get out of my face.”

Haechan didn’t back down. He stared up into Johnny’s eyes.

“You got in _my_ face,” Haechan said. “I’m not afraid. If you see my mom die, then I know it’s time for me to say goodbye.”

Johnny stared back at this kid.

He couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

This was terrible. This was sick. How could someone be asking him for this?

Haechan had no idea what it felt like. He had no idea about the horror and terror and grief and fear and shock and rage that Johnny experienced over and over again from his terrible predictions.

This smug kid thought he could handle it? Really? He thought it was that easy.

_I’ll just tell my mom goodbye._

Suddenly, Johnny wanted to teach him a lesson. It was going to hurt. Johnny, too. But it’d be worth it.

“You asked for it,” Johnny growled.

Johnny took off his right glove with a snap and dropped it on the ground. Then he grabbed Haechan’s hand.

Johnny was immediately sucked under.

Johnny saw Haechan walking across a street, checking his phone. He had a new text. The text was from Haechan’s university with a link for him to see the results of his final semester exams. Haechan clicked the link. He read that he had passed each exam with flying colors. Haechan did a fist pump and immediately called someone named Taeil.

“ _Next week, you’re going to pass all your exams_ ,” Johnny said, snapping back to the present and seeing the two young guys in front of him again. He blinked. Haechan clapped his hands together with a laugh.

“Sweet!” he said, turning to Mark and giving him a high five. “I’m gonna stop studying.”

Johnny stood there but it was for longer than his usual freeze-out period after a prediction.

He was confused.

What had just come out of his mouth?

You’re going to pass your exams?

“Nobody’s dying,” Mark said, smiling. “That’s good.”

“What?” Johnny said. He bent down and grabbed his glove, slipping it on quickly. He didn’t even know what was happening. His heart was beating way too fast.

Suddenly, Johnny felt dizzy. He felt like he could crash any moment. He was very tired. He needed to get out of there.

“Where are we going?” Johnny asked. “I need to lie down.”

“When I first moved here, I had jet lag for like three weeks,” Mark said.

“He couldn’t function, he couldn’t speak Korean, he had random objects flying around the room under no control,” Haechan said, ticking off each point on his fingers. “Mark was a mess. You’re doing way better than him, Johnny hyung.”

“Hey!” Mark pouted.

Johnny closed his eyes for a moment. They really didn’t get it. He felt like he had a hangover. He had a headache and he felt sluggish. What was happening to him? His visions didn’t usually affect him like this. All he’d seen was Haechan walking across the street and looking at his phone.

“Can we seriously get out of here?” Johnny slurred. Then he realized his eyes were still closed but he couldn’t seem to open them.

“Whoa,” Johnny heard Mark say. “He doesn’t look good.”

“We can’t carry him. He’s like… really tall,” Haechan said.

“He looks like he’s going to fall over. Why did you do that?”

“Me? We discussed it on our way over here!”

“Doyoung said that we shouldn’t.”

“Now, he knows,” Haechan said. “He’s coming.”

“You talked to him?”

“I think you did. Your mind’s weaker.”

“It is not.”

“Is too.”

Johnny felt like he really was going to pass out. In front of two guys who really wouldn’t be able to pick him up, even if they did work together, because they’d be too busy bickering all the time.

So, this was Johnny’s fate in Korea. The one he couldn’t see. Passing out after having the most benign vision he’d seen since he was 18, crack his head on the concrete, slowly bleed out and if he did survive, he’d go to jail for violating his quarantine order because there was no way he’d make it the address before the government checked his app—

A car honked, very close. Johnny startled and opened his eyes.

A black SUV parked next to them. Johnny watched the tinted driver’s side window roll down and a dark haired attractive man stuck his head out.

“You didn’t listen,” he said, looking at Haechan and Mark.

“Oh shit…” Mark said, under his breath.

“You interrupted my whole day.” The guy turned his gaze to meet Johnny’s eyes. “Hi, Johnny. I’m Doyoung. I’ll take you to the house now.”

“Hyung,” Haechan said, as he opened the back door. “Whose mind did you get into?”

“No one,” Doyoung snapped. “I only needed to look at the location app to see you two weren’t moving.”

“It was Mark,” Haechan said, loudly. “He saw how hard you were struggling.”

“Shut up,” Mark whined, climbing in the back of the vehicle.

Johnny flinched when Haechan slammed the back door shut.

“Johnny?” Doyoung said, speaking to him in a much more pleasant voice. “Go ahead and get in the front seat. Oh…” He glanced at Johnny’s suitcase. “Why didn’t either of you help Johnny with his bag?”

“We forgot.”

“He’s bigger than us!”

Doyoung jumped out of the car, groaning under his breath. “I’m sorry about them,” he said. Now that Doyoung was out of the car, Johnny could see that he wasn’t as short as the other two and he wasn’t as young, but he was still young… he and Doyoung seemed to be around the same age. It felt strange to him. Johnny thought that if he was going to meet someone who could help him that they’d be older. That they’d know what they were doing.

“Who are you?” Johnny asked in a low voice, still feeling very off. “What is this?”

He thought about Mark wrenching his passport out of his hand without touching him. Haechan asking Doyoung if he’d gotten into their mind.

What did Haechan say?

Psychic abilities?

“I told them not to mess around before you got to the house,” Doyoung said with a sigh. “I thought between the two of them, they’d have one brain cell.” Doyoung focused on Johnny again. “Johnny, there’s a lot to explain. But I think you’ll understand it better once we’re at the house. With everyone else.” Doyoung took a deep breath and let it out in a short huff. “Let me get your bag.”

Johnny watched Doyoung grab his suitcase and throw it in the trunk. He helped Johnny take off his backpack and set it on the floor in the backseat. Johnny still felt so sluggish, even though there wasn’t a good reason for it. This was more than jet lag. Johnny didn’t know what this was. He looked at Doyoung when he came over and took Johnny’s arm. Johnny flinched but then he remembered he was all covered up. He was safe.

“Come on,” Doyoung said, gently, as he helped Johnny walk around to the other side and get in the SUV.

“Buckle up, Johnny.” Mark leaned forward to remind him in English after Doyoung had pulled away from the curb and the large airport had disappeared in the distance. Johnny clumsily reached for the seatbelt, tugging it on.

Johnny thought Korea was going to be where he found himself.

Right now, he just felt so lost.

He was in a car full of strangers who could take him anywhere.

But at the same time, he had nowhere else to go.

Johnny didn’t know which one was worse.

“It’s okay, Johnny,” Doyoung said, breaking the silence in the car. He glanced over at Johnny at a red light after they entered the city. “I promise you’re going to be okay. We’re fine.”

“He’s reading your mind right now,” Haechan said, from the back.

“I am not,” Doyoung shot back.

Johnny felt a shiver run down his spine. He didn’t know if it was from what Haechan said or if Doyoung actually was able to read his mind. He felt so strange. In this moment, Johnny had no idea why he though it was a good idea to accept a mysterious message and a plane ticket from a stranger.

He wanted to go home.

Johnny turned away from them all and looked out the window. His mask bumped up against it as he got too close.

He glanced up at the tall buildings and blinking lights, muted in the bright sunshine as they entered the city of Seoul. Johnny wanted to be impressed but he felt like he couldn’t take anything in.

Suddenly, Johnny sat straight up in his seat.

His eyes were drawn up, high, to a billboard that hung on the top of a department store building. There was a huge, larger than life photo of a very handsome guy holding up a bottle of cologne, staring out at them all with a smoldering, sexy look on his face.

They passed by too fast for Johnny to read the words on the ad.

But he knew that face.

How could he know that face?

It felt impossible.

But it was the same face he fantasized about every night.

Maybe Johnny was more out of it after that vision than he thought. But even miles down the road, the thought, the billboard and the picture were still burned into his mind.

Johnny knew who he saw.

It was Yoonoh.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

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	9. Johnny

Johnny felt overwhelmed. He was from a city, but this felt completely different. Seoul was compact and so vast all at the same time. So many buildings and streets and people and stores and restaurants and cars everywhere, buses passing by. Mark and Haechan started talking, giving him an informal tour of the city outside of the vehicle’s tinted window. While Johnny had been confident in his Korean, he realized it didn’t quite translate into real life. Their rapid-fire Korean was hard to keep up with, especially when they kept interrupting each other with bursts of laughter. Johnny’s headache didn’t help either. It hurt to think.

But he couldn’t stop thinking.

He was thinking about the fact he was alone in a strange country, surrounded by strangers. He was thinking about how his latest vision wasn’t at all what he expected.

Mostly, he was thinking about Yoonoh’s face. His face on a huge billboard, staring down at him with the sexiest look Johnny had ever seen.

What did that mean?

Johnny’s head hurt so much.

The SUV slowed down. They were on a quieter street now, much more residential. Small houses were clustered together on both sides of the street. They traveled up a steep hill. There were a lot of hills in Seoul.

“Here we are,” Doyoung said, in a low voice. They turned into a driveway and rolled up to the back of the house. A garage door opened but Doyoung didn’t go inside. He parked in the driveway.

Johnny saw a guy sitting cross-legged in the middle of the garage. He had long blonde hair. Curls of smoke floated up to the ceiling in front of him. Was he smoking? Johnny hated smoking. Was he about to move into a smoking household?

He should have asked so many more question before he came here.

“Mark and Haechan.” Doyoung turned to face the other two in the back after he parked. “Don’t be assholes. Take Johnny’s bags and bring them to his room.”

“Okaaaaaay,” they both groaned as they got out of the car. Doyoung turned to Johnny again.

“This is where we live. This is our house. We own it so you don’t have to worry about anything,” Doyoung said. “Quarantine should be easy. We’ll get you whatever you need. You don’t have to wear your mask in the house unless you want to.”

It took a moment for Johnny to register what Doyoung said. Then he slowly slipped his N95 mask off.

Johnny got out of the car while Mark and Haechan wrestled his suitcase out of the back with a loud clack on the concrete ground.

“Whoa, he only brought one suitcase?” the guy in the garage called out to them.

“Yeah, not everyone’s an over packer like you,” Haechan said. He put on Johnny’s backpack.

“Sweet.” The blonde guy stood up. “I don’t have to worry about closet space.”

“Are you trying to burn the house down?” Doyoung said, dryly, giving the blonde guy a skeptical look. Johnny stood next to the SUV while everyone else headed towards the garage.

“If I wanted to burn the house down, it would be gone by now,” the blonde guy said with a cocky grin. Johnny noticed that the smoke was gone. Not like it had dissipated, but like it was never there. Small piles of ashes were scattered at the blonde guy’s feet. “Just practicing putting them out. Since Mark will never be able to help me.”

“Hey,” Mark said with a pout. “I’m working on it.”

“Didn’t want any wind,” the blonde guy said. Haechan and Mark trudged through the garage with Johnny’s stuff, using a side door to enter the house. Doyoung went to stand near the blonde guy and looked back at Johnny.

“He looks out of it,” the blonde guy said, like Johnny wasn’t even there.

“Yeah, well, Mark and Haechan were messing around when they met him at the airport.”

“Hey Johnny,” the blonde one said, raising his voice. He waved Johnny over. “I don’t bite. I’m your roommate. I’m Yuta.”

He held out his hand like he wanted to shake. Johnny kept his hands at his sides. Why did everyone here want to touch him?

Johnny took a tentative step forward. When he entered the garage, his headache got stronger. So intense that he felt a sharp pain drill through his skull and ringing between his ears. He pressed his hands over his ears and doubled over, the pain making him feel dizzy and faint.

“Oh shit,” Yuta said. “Should we tell Taeyong to cut it out?”

“I don’t think he can help it.”

Johnny could barely hear them. It sounded like their voices were coming from underwater. The air around him seemed charged, like it was cracking with static electricity. Johnny felt like if he moved, he was going to get shocked. His feet wouldn’t work.

“What should we do?”

“Just get him inside… that’s the only thing I can think of.”

Johnny wanted to scream but nothing about his body was working. Besides, he was scared that his head was going to explode. It hurt that bad. He’d never felt a pain like this before. He thought he was going to pass out. He thought he was going to die.

Why didn’t he tell his parents what was really going on? Why didn’t he call to say “I love you” to them as soon as he got off the plane?

He really wasn’t going to see Yoonoh again. When he was so close. Johnny could sense that Yoonoh was _here_.

Why was Yoonoh on a billboard?

That was Johnny’s last thought before he passed out.

*

Johnny woke up to a cat staring at him.

It was a beautiful gray and white cat, small, long and elegant. It sat on top of a dresser, staring down at Johnny, who was lying face up on a twin sized bed. His feet dangled off the end. His clothes were still on, those his hoodie sleeves were pushed up, exposing his forearms, and his shoes were off.

The room was small. There was a matching bed beside his. Besides the dresser and a desk, there wasn’t room for anything else. Johnny’s suitcase and backpack were shoved into a corner.

The cat jumped down, landing without a sound. It swished its long tail behind it as it came over. It jumped on Johnny’s bed and then climbed on his chest. The cat settled there, laying down without a care in the world, purring. The vibration from it’s small chest was more soothing than Johnny thought was possible. He hesitantly reached up and ran his hand over the cat’s head. It’s fur was so soft and it’s ears flattened back as it purred harder. Johnny petted it again, running his hand all the way down the cat’s smooth, silky back. Johnny had never been a cat person before, but he felt like he already loved this one as they snuggled together.

That’s when he realized he wasn’t wearing his gloves. Who took them off? Did something happen?

“That’s Katya,” Yuta said. “This is our room, but she thinks it’s her room, too. You passed out. We carried you up here. Not the cat. Me and Doyoung.”

Johnny sat up quickly, his head jerking to the side. Katya slid down his body and settled in his lap, curling up on her back and asking for more pets. Johnny looked down at Katya and then up at Yuta, who was standing in the doorway.

“Please don’t touch me,” Johnny said.

Yuta held up his hands. “I won’t. I’m not a touchy-feely person anyway.”

Johnny looked down at the kitty. She batted impatiently at his hand with her small paw. He rubbed a finger over her nose, back towards her ears. She settled down again, purring, eyes closed.

“Katya is our healer,” Yuta said. “She’s here to make us feel better.”

Johnny’s heart clenched as Katya licked the pad of his finger with her sandpapery light tongue. He didn’t know why it didn’t occur to him that he could have a pet. Of course, his ability wouldn’t extend to animals. He could touch her and not be afraid.

Johnny had just gotten used to a life without touching anyone.

“I wanna know what’s going on,” Johnny said, in a low voice. He looked up and met Yuta’s eyes.

“Yeah,” Yuta said. “When I got here, I was just like you. Worse, even. You’re nicer than me. I burned a tree down. I feel bad about it now.”

Johnny had no idea what he was talking about.

Yuta gestured around the room. There were candles on top of the desk and the dresser and on top of a shelf that was coming out of the wall. Johnny looked at all of them and then back at Yuta. Katya nudged his hand, and he went back to petting her again.

“Watch,” Yuta said. He snapped his fingers.

All the candles lit up. Not just lit up. They all roared to life with a huge flame at the same time. Johnny sucked in his breath. Katya meowed loudly.

“Sorry, baby,” Yuta said. Just like that, the flames were out. The candles were perfectly still, except for their black, burned wicks. Katya settled down again, her eyes closing as she stretched out her small body in Johnny’s lap.

“She hates that,” Yuta said. “I didn’t need to snap. I just did that to impress you.”

Yuta smiled. Johnny still didn’t know what to think.

“It’s like the dark side of what Mark can do,” Yuta said. “Which makes sense because he’s a nice guy. I’m not. I’m a pyro. I can control fire.”

Johnny let out a short breath. He looked down at Katya. The kitty blinked back at him and gave a lazy yawn.

“But don’t worry,” Yuta said. “I’m not going to burn the place down. Like I told Doyoung, if I wanted to do that, the place would already be burned down. I decided I liked these guys. They keep me out of trouble. I was out of control anyway. It feels good to have focus.”

Johnny rubbed his head. The headache had improved greatly but it was still lingering behind his skull. Katya leaped up nimbly and perched herself on Johnny’s shoulder. She licked the side of his face.

“I kind of think she likes you for real and not just Taeyong telling her to,” Yuta said.

“I’m sorry,” Johnny finally managed to say. “I’m so out of it.”

“Yeah, it’s to be expected. You’ll get used to it. There’s a lot of power here.”

Haechan poked his head in the room, standing behind Yuta. “Taeil says come down for dinner,” he announced.

“C’mon, Johnny.” Yuta stepped in the room and offered his hand. Johnny pushed himself back against the headboard and widened his eyes.

“I can’t touch you,” Johnny warned. How many times was he going to have to keep saying that?

Yuta narrowed his eyes at him. “I think you have to stop being so afraid of it.”

“He’s just repeating what Taeyong hyung said,” Haechan said. He hurried to Johnny and handed over his gloves.

*

Johnny followed Yuta and Haechan down a narrow set of stairs.

“You guys carried me up here?” Johnny asked.

“Yeah, pain in the ass,” Yuta said, jumping down the last step to the landing. “It would be a hell of a lot easier if Mark could just float you but he’s not advanced enough.”

“I heard that!” Mark yelled back from where ever he was. Johnny couldn’t see him, but he didn’t sound too far. “I don’t know if I can float people.”

“We’re all made of matter,” Yuta called back.

Johnny took a moment to take in his surroundings. They were in a living room area at the bottom of the stairs. It was a bright open area with a large TV, a coffee table, plenty of seating and large windows including a panel of glass sliding doors that led to a patio area outside. The sun was setting slowly. It was golden hour, warm orange sunlight filtering in through all the open windows. There was a small backyard with a dirt pile in the middle, awkwardly interrupting the otherwise lush, green grass.

“The tree,” Yuta said, pointing at the dirt.

Haechan led them to a kitchen. As soon as they walked in, a short guy jumped up from his seat as he burst into a smile.

“Johnny!” he said. “I’m so happy to see you. You made it. Sorry about the trouble. It happens to everyone. Come here, have a seat.” He pulled out a chair.

“You could start with your name,” Yuta said.

“I’m Taeil,” the short guy said. He gave a bow. “Nice to meet you.”

Johnny blinked. He was still feeling overwhelmed. Taeil didn’t look any older than any of them. Who was in charge here? He wasn’t sure.

“We got pizza!” Mark announced. He was standing at the kitchen island, arranging plates. “Chicago deep dish in honor of Johnny.”

“I’ve always wanted to try it,” Haechan said.

Johnny doubted Chicago deep dish pizza could taste good made in Seoul but who was he to argue this homage to him? He went and sat down in the chair that Taeil had pulled out. He still felt tired and out of it and achy. Taeil got him a bottle of water.

“Do I get to find out what’s happening now?” Johnny asked, feeling weary. He heard Katya mewl as she jumped on the table.

“Yah!” Taeil barked. “Katya, off the table!”

Katya delicately dropped herself into Johnny’s lap and curled up there.

“She likes him as much as Taeyong,” Yuta said. He set a bottle of Cass beer in front of Johnny. “I think you need that more.”

“We had this at my restaurant,” Johnny mused, reaching out to touch the familiar bottle. They stocked Cass beer at the Korean barbecue restaurant because it was Korean. Now he was actually in Korea with Korean beer. Life was really strange.

“We’ll definitely tell you what’s going on,” Taeil said, as Mark and Haechan carried over the pizza and the plates. The deep dish looked just like it did in Chicago. Basically, death by pizza. There was so much cheese and dough and meat and sauce. Each slice felt like it weighed five pounds. Mark served him awkwardly.

Johnny heard footsteps coming up from underneath them. Then the sound of a door opening. A moment later, Doyoung appeared in the kitchen, followed by a smaller guy with the largest, brownest, puppy dog eyes that Johnny had ever seen.

“Hi Johnny,” the large-eyed guy said. “I’m Taeyong.”

Johnny’s headache started to intensify again. He no longer felt hungry. He gulped down his water.

“I’m sorry I’m having that effect on you.” Taeyong glanced over at Doyoung.

“Doing my best to filter it,” Doyoung said.

Johnny closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Katya began licking his arm, sitting up in his lap. That made Johnny feel a little better. He opened his eyes again.

Soon everyone was sitting at the table. It was a tight fit with the seven of them. Johnny was sandwiched between Yuta and Mark. Doyoung and Taeyong sat across from them. Haechan and Taeil sat at the ends of the rectangular table.

“Who’s gonna talk?” Haechan asked.

“Not you,” Yuta said.

“Johnny,” Taeil said. “Is Korean okay? We can speak English.”

“They had to learn because of me,” Mark said.

Johnny nodded and took a deep breath. “Korean is fine,” he said. “Just… speak slow.”

“Yes.” Taeil nodded with a warm smile. “I know you met everyone but let me do introductions. My full name is Moon Taeil. I’m 26 years old. I’m a PhD candidate at Yonsei University in neuroscience.”

“Neuroscience?” Johnny repeated numbly.

“Yeah,” Taeil said. “Studying the human mind. But what I do here is off the record.”

“What do you do?” Johnny didn’t have a fork. He looked around at the others who were either using their hands or chopsticks to eat the deep dish pizza.

“Johnny…” Taeil leaned into him a little. “Have you ever heard the saying that you only use ten percent of your brain?”

“For Mark, it’s more like one percent,” Haechan quipped. Mark glared with his mouth full.

“That’s not true,” Taeil continued. “You use your full brain. Obviously. Or you wouldn’t be alive. But Johnny, what they’re referring to is the fact that there are so many neural pathways available. So many connections that can be made. The fascinating part about the brain is how we’re wired. These neural pathways can be discovered and nurtured to their full maturity. They can be broken. They can never be formed.”

Taeil was staring at him so intensely. Johnny glanced around quickly to see if anyone else thought this was strange. They were all eating their food except for Taeyong, who was staring at Johnny.

“I met Taeyong while I was working on an experiment,” Taeil said. “He’s the same age as you and so is Yuta. Doyoung is one year younger. Mark is 20 and Haechan is 19.”

Taeil rubbed a hand over his hair. “My lab was doing brain scans, an MRI. Taeyong came in to be part of it. When we read Taeyong’s brain scan it was so different from anything we had ever seen before. So different that our lead professor made us throw it out. He said someone had done it wrong. We tried to get Taeyong to come back for a re-scan but he never answered our calls and emails. I couldn’t stop thinking about it. For some reason, I knew the brain scan wasn’t just wrong.”

Johnny glanced at Taeyong again, who didn’t show any change in his expression.

“I eventually found Taeyong again,” Taeil said. “I wanted to talk to him. I told him that his brain scan was so fascinating, and I wanted to know if he ever felt like he was different. To my surprise, Taeyong said yes.”

Taeil looked so earnest while he told this story. Johnny had no idea where it was going.

“I said yes,” Taeyong said. Katya stretched up on Johnny’s lap, placing her paws on the top of his chest. She meowed softly and bumped the top of her head up against Johnny’s chin. Then she looked at Taeyong.

“Katya is my cat,” Taeyong said. “She says she really likes you.”

“He told me that he’d always had a special connection with animals,” Taeil said.

“He can talk to animals!” Mark said. “It’s really cool. He can make them do whatever he wants.”

“I don’t make them do anything,” Taeyong said. “I ask.”

“What?” Johnny said, knitting his eyebrows together.

“I didn’t believe it at first either,” Taeil said. “But… one night, Taeyong showed me.” Taeil took a breath and let it out with a huff. “It was more than a special connection or being an animal lover. He could communicate with them. I started to think, that’s what his brain scan meant. He had these neural pathways we’d never seen before.” Taeil locked his fingers together, giving Johnny an intense look. “Everything on earth is connected. Everything is made of matter and energy. Including ourselves. Including our brain. Some of us have the ability to tap into that. Those type of neural pathways.”

Johnny nodded after a moment. He got what Taeil was saying, he guessed. But what did it have to do with him?

“Once I realized that Taeyong had that ability, we started working together,” Taeil said. “I thought it was just about his connection with animals, but I realized that what Taeyong could do was more than that. I mean, humans are animals, too.” Taeil looked over at Doyoung and nodded. “Doyoung went to Yonsei as well and Taeyong and I came across him working at a carnival, doing fortune teller readings.”

“Wait,” Johnny interrupted, finally latching onto something. “You can tell the future, too?”

Doyoung snorted and then nearly choked on his pizza. He had to pull himself together to swallow. “God, no,” he said, laughing.

“He was lying,” Haechan said. “Just telling people what they wanted to hear. Hyung reads minds.”

“Something like that,” Taeil said. “He’s able to tap into another person’s subconscious.”

“I thought it was just a party trick,” Doyoung said. “But when Taeyong was near me, it just started to go crazy. Suddenly, everyone was in my head. I could hear and feel everything.” He turned to Johnny. “That’s what you’re experiencing now.”

“I realized that,” Taeil said. “Taeyong has the ability to enhance these… pathways.”

“I told Johnny the official term,” Haechan said, grabbing another slice of pizza. “Psychic abilities.”

“Your food is getting cold,” Taeyong said, nodding at Johnny. Johnny glanced down at his plate. If what Taeil was saying was true, then why couldn’t Doyoung read his mind and know he wanted a fork?

“Get him a fork,” Doyoung said, glancing at Mark. Mark hopped up quickly. “I’m trying not to,” he said, looking at Johnny.

Johnny didn’t know what to say to that. He felt his face heat up as he took the fork.

“It’s just harder to block you out right because your energy is new,” Doyoung said. “I’m not doing it on purpose.”

“So, you _were_ reading his mind in the car,” Haechan said, with a smirk.

“I wasn’t trying to.”

What else had Doyoung seen in his mind? Johnny thought it might be time for him to stop thinking.

“I’m worrying about other things,” Doyoung said. “It’s kind of like noise in the background. It takes a lot of energy to do this. If I listened to you all the time, Johnny, I’d have no energy to do anything else. I promised I’m not listening too much.”

Johnny took a bite of his pizza, just to have something to do. He understood but he also didn’t understand. This was too weird for it all to be real.

“Because Doyoung has this ability to tap into the subconscious,” Taeil said. “Not only can he… know what people are thinking but he can… let’s say… influence decisions.”

“He can control minds,” Haechan translated.

“He made you get that fork?” Johnny asked, looking at Mark.

“No!” Mark squeaked. “I just listen to my hyungs.”

“Unlike the other one,” Doyoung grumbled.

Johnny closed his eyes for a moment. This was too much.

“But I can’t do it without Taeyong,” Doyoung said. “I didn’t know I had that ability until we started working together. Something about the way he enhances our abilities with his presence.”

“See, Johnny,” Taeil said. “The brain is a muscle. Just like any other… if you want your muscle to be strong, you have to train it. You have to work it out.”

“Like Johnny’s biceps,” Yuta cut in, giving Johnny a smile. “I noticed those guns. You work out, Johnny.”

Johnny couldn’t even react to that right now. Taeil went on. “Taeyong’s other ability is like… a steroid. He makes these certain pathways stronger. The way his energy interacts with yours… it’s incredible.”

Johnny looked at Taeyong again, who nodded. Johnny took another deep breath.

“Okay,” he said, slowly. “So… Taeyong talks to animals and enhances psychic abilities. Doyoung can read and control minds. Yuta starts fires. Mark moves objects.” Johnny looked at Taeil again. “And you study them?”

Taeil nodded. “Yes. I’m trying to figure out how this all works. And how we can make it work better. How we can really refine what everyone can do. How can we use this?”

“How did you find me?” Johnny blurted out, coming to the real question that was on the top of his mind. “How did you find Mark or… Yuta…” he glanced over at Haechan, remembering how Haechan had antagonized him at the airport. “Wait, what can you do?”

Haechan smiled sheepishly. Then he let out a pained sigh. “Nothing,” he admitted.

“He’s my research assistant,” Taeil said. “From the biology class I TA’d a couple of years ago. He kind of figured out what was going on and I invited him to help.”

“You’re all students…?” Johnny asked, slowly. Taeil shook his head.

“Haechan and I are students,” Taeil said. “Doyoung and Taeyong graduated. Mark…”

“Didn’t finish,” Mark piped up.

“I dropped out,” Yuta said.

“Do you have jobs?” Johnny asked.

“This is our job,” Yuta said. He smiled and suddenly, flames shot up from the stove.

“Yuta hyung,” Doyoung said, sharply. Katya arched up on all fours and hissed.

Yuta laughed as the flames went out. “There’s more to this story.”

“I want you to think about the practical application of these skills,” Taeil said. “Like… someone who’s really good at math can… design a spaceship. Someone who’s really good at moving objects with their mind can…”

Taeil let the sentence hang in the air like he expected Johnny to finish it.

Suddenly, something clicked.

“Rob a bank?” Johnny asked, widening his eyes.

Mark laughed, nervously. “I can’t make things go through walls,” he said.

“Or mind control a bank teller to give you all of the money…?” Johnny turned his gaze to Doyoung. He watched him exchange a look with Taeyong.

“You guys don’t have jobs or you’re only students, yet you own this house?” Johnny asked, his heart racing suddenly. “My parents are pretty well off, but they always tell me they can’t afford property in Seoul.”

“He’s thinking along the lines of what I think we should do,” Yuta said. “I like Johnny.”

“We haven’t robbed a bank,” Doyoung clarified.

“But that’s the type of things you could do…” Johnny said, slowly. “Is that what you’re talking about?”

Everyone was looking at each other.

“We’re figuring it out,” Taeyong said, softly. “What we want to do here, ultimately, is learn how to have complete control over our minds and what we can do.

“Haechan and I record everything,” Taeil said. “If we figure out what you guys can do, how you can do it and why… we can make something of it. Eventually… we could market it to the whole world.”

“What?” Johnny spat out. “You want people to be able to do what _I_ can do? I don’t think so!”

“No, not like that,” Taeil said. “But we want to understand why you have this ability. We want to help you learn how to control it and enhance it. I think you’ll be able to do that with our help.”

“I don’t wanna enhance it!” Johnny blurted out. “I wanna get rid of it. I want this to _never_ happen to me again. I thought that’s why I was here. I want a normal life!”

“We’re not saying you can’t!” Taeil said, quickly. “You can have a normal life. Doyoung… those voices used to overwhelm him. Mark didn’t know what was happening to him. Yuta was going to jail for arson. But we’re working together to make it manageable and hopefully, useful.”

“How did you get this house?” Johnny asked, again. The headache was coming back, almost full force again. He pressed the heel of his hand to his temple. Katya began purring urgently in his lap, circling around and pawing at his jeans. “How did you find me?”

“I can feel you, Johnny,” Taeyong said, softly.

“I think we should give him a break,” Doyoung said.

“It’s hard to explain,” Taeil said. “We’ll keep talking. You’ll understand, Johnny, I promise.”

Johnny closed his eyes with a sigh. Then he grabbed the beer that Yuta gave him, which was half-warm now, and chugged it all down in one go.

*

“Johnny, do you want to watch TV with us?” Mark asked, as he and Haechan cleared the table. Taeil, Doyoung and Taeyong went down to the basement together. Yuta said he was going out. Johnny felt like he couldn’t move. It was the jet lag, this never-ending headache, and the knowledge that maybe these people were going to be able to help him after all. Not in the way that Johnny hoped.

He wanted to go to bed. He wanted to go home.

But he was stuck here for 14 days at least. He might as well make the most of it.

“Nobody wants to watch TV with you,” Haechan deadpanned. “It’s time for his stupid show.”

“Johnny might like it,” Mark said.

“Hyung, have you ever watched a K-Drama?”

“My mom has,” Johnny mumbled.

“See? He hates it.”

“This one is really good,” Mark said. “It’s about these people in their twenties struggling through their first year working full-time. They’ve been friends all through college. And one of them has—”

Haechan interrupted with a loud snoring sound. Mark elbowed him with a frown.

“He only likes it because he’s like in love with the lead actor,” Haechan said.

“I’m not in love,” Mark said, crossing his arms. “I’m a fan.”

“He is hot though,” Haechan said. “Come watch with us, hyung.”

“Can you get me another beer?” Johnny asked. “I don’t know where they are.”

Johnny settled on the couch in front of the TV with his beer. Haechan sat next to him with his feet up on the coffee table. Mark was lying on the floor.

“He wants to be inside the TV,” Haechan said. “His crush is really pathetic.”

“I don’t have a crush,” Mark said. “I’m just a fan.”

“I don’t know why,” Haechan said. “The lead actor is like… really dull. He’s devoid of personality. He barely talks. He’s only pretty to look at.”

“Heyyyyy…” Mark said, turning to Haechan with a frown.

“I have no idea why he’s so popular,” Haechan said. “Everyone’s so shallow. He’s not even a good actor.”

“Anyway!” Mark said, loudly, turning the TV up. “It’s starting.”

Johnny drank his beer, staring at the TV.

When he saw the opening credits, he nearly spit everything out.

Mark gave a dreamy sigh.

“Oh shit, you’re watching that show?” Yuta said, appearing in the living room. “God, that guy is so hot.”

He came over and sat next to Johnny and Haechan on the couch.

“I thought you were going out, hyung,” Haechan said.

“I can go after this. Isn’t it like episode 15? I think he’s finally going to kiss that chick and he might take off his shirt.”

“See?” Mark said, laughing a little. “I’m not the only one who likes this show.”

“You’re both lame,” Haechan mumbled.

Johnny continued to stare at the screen. He couldn’t believe his eyes. Was this real? After the opening credits, the show opened up with a woman and a man sitting across at table on a romantic date.

Johnny recognized the man’s face.

It was that same face Johnny couldn’t get out of his mind.

Was Doyoung reading his mind now? Johnny pressed a hand against his forehead. He didn’t want them to know.

But how was he seeing this?

Yoonoh was on this TV. Yoonoh was in this show. That was Yoonoh’s face. Right there in front of him.

“Johnny’s got his mouth open,” Haechan said.

Johnny quickly snapped his mouth shut.

Yuta looked over at Johnny and laughed. “He has good taste. That guy’s hot, right?”

“Who—” Johnny choked out. “Who is he?” Because there was a chance this still wasn’t true. That guy could be Yoonoh’s lookalike or something.

“Jung Jaehyun,” Yuta said. “He’s a big name actor here.”

“He’s the hottest actor in Korea!” Mark said. “The most famous actor!”

“Don’t become pathetic like them, hyung,” Haechan said. “If you watch this cheesy show, you’ll see how bad he is. But his fans don’t realize it. Because they’re as lame as he is. They call themselves Valentines because Jaehyun’s birthday is on Valentine’s Day. How pathetic is that?”

Johnny nearly choked on air. He had to remind himself to breathe.

Haechan looked at him, amused. Maybe he thought Johnny was trying not to laugh.

“Mark dragged me to two different birthday cafes for him,” Haechan said. “It was so pathetic. We were the only guys there! Everyone thought he might secretly show up even though he was in America for his birthday to do Hollywood auditions. Even I knew that Mark.”

“He might have come home early,” Mark mumbled. “Shhhhh.”

Haechan rolled his eyes.

Johnny blinked at the screen. His breath felt like it was coming faster and faster.

“W-what?” Johnny stuttered. “What did you say his name was?”

“Jung Jaehyun,” Yuta said. “Check him out. He did a spread in Men’s Health that I jerk off to like every day.”

“Hyung!” Haechan said, laughing.

Johnny flashed back to that night that he’d thought about so often. Yoonoh’s ID didn’t say Jaehyun. But it did say Jeong.

His birthday was on Valentine’s Day.

He’d been in America for his birthday.

“I really like you,” Jaehyun said on screen. Johnny felt a chill down his spine as he listened to that familiar deep voice. And then he noticed the dimples as the camera moved in closer and closer until Jaehyun’s extremely handsome face was the only image filling the screen.

Yoonoh’s face.

Jaehyun’s face.

Yoonoh was Jaehyun.

The hottest, most famous actor in Korea.

Johnny stood up abruptly, his beer sloshing out of the top. “I gotta go,” he said. “I’m going to bed. Goodnight.”

Johnny hustled back up the narrow staircase before anyone could say anything. The room he shared with Yuta was the last door on the right. He burst through and closed the door behind him. As soon as he closed it, he heard a loud meow on the other side. He opened the door again. Katya sauntered in. He closed the door behind her and flopped on his bed, sitting back against the pillows on the headboard. Katya jumped on him and curled up in his lap.

“You talk to Taeyong?” Johnny asked, looking down at her. “Don’t tell him our conversations, okay?”

Katya answered him with a yawn.

Johnny googled “Jeong Jaehyun” on his phone. Google autocorrected the romanization to Jung.

The first thing that popped up was his Men’s Health magazine spread.

Yoonoh was shirtless and he took Johnny’s breath away. This was definitely the same person. Johnny would recognize those abs anywhere. He’d worshipped those abs. He’d licked those abs. Yoonoh had muscles on top of muscles. Yoonoh’s body was incredible. The photoshoot was from January. Johnny wondered if Yoonoh got so ripped just for this magazine.

He couldn’t believe he found Yoonoh again. Jaehyun.

Why did he lie about his name?

But Jeong Yoonoh was on his ID. Was it really a lie? Johnny kept scrolling.

It turned out Yoonoh was his birth name, but he went by Jaehyun. It seemed like Jung was the romanization Yoonoh used professionally for his last name, but Jeong was used as well. All the other facts were the same. Yoonoh spoke Korean and English. He had lived in the states for a little while, just like Yoonoh told him. There was a picture of Yoonoh in the Chicago airport on February 15th, wearing the same outfit that Johnny saw him walk away in.

Johnny tapped the picture on his phone that he’d stared at so many times. The selfie he took of him and Yoonoh in the beautiful morning sun.

Yoonoh was here.

“Look, Katya,” Johnny whispered. “Can I really see him again?”

Johnny looked up Yoonoh’s social media. He had over 10 million followers on Instagram and 4 pictures. He hadn’t updated since April 12th.

There were so many fan accounts dedicated to him. So many articles written about him. Yoonoh wasn’t just famous. He was _famous_ famous.

Then why was he alone on his birthday? A person like Yoonoh should never be alone.

Would a person like Yoonoh remember him?

Yoonoh’s words were still burned into his mind.

_I’ll never forget this._

Johnny heard him say that so many times in his mind. About Johnny. About what they had done together.

Was it true?

How could Johnny contact him? Slide into his DMs? That would never work.

Especially now that he knew Yoonoh was a super famous actor. He probably got five thousand DMs a minute.

Especially now that Johnny was mixed up with a bunch of guys with psychic powers who may or may not have robbed a bank.

It felt too dangerous. It felt impossible.

Johnny didn’t know what to do.

“Please don’t look in my head,” Johnny whispered.

His head still hurt. Even Yoonoh couldn’t take that way. Johnny was so exhausted.

It had been a really long day.

He laid down on his side. Katya curled up beside him and nipped at his gloves. He slipped them off and petted her.

Johnny knew he should be more concerned about figuring out who the hell he was living with and what the hell he had gotten himself into.

But Yoonoh was the last thing Johnny thought about before he fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So much is going on! I don’t know how Johnny is going to keep up. Or how he’s going to connect with Yoonoh again. Next chapter, we get to see what Jaehyun’s been up to since his night with Johnny.
> 
> Leave me a comment and let me know what you think! Or chat here:
> 
> [Twitter](https://twitter.com/cherrysodapop14)  
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